Overview & Purpose
Social Catfish is an identification checking and online investigation service based in Murrieta, California. The primary lure of the service is to individuals fearing they will be “catfished,” or deceived by someone they believe is a potential partner who uses a false identity online.
Social Catfish uses name, phone number, email, username, address, and a reverse image lookup to find a connection to social and other profiles and public docs that either verifies’ or debunks’ that persons identity.
There are also options for using “Privacy Lock,” “AI Chat Checker,” and various other aggregate-style reporting that would be similar to background-type reporting, although the service is not FCRA compliant for use (it can’t be used for employment screening, for example).
Because of the nature of identification checking, the service also is partially gated by a paywall; a user may start with a small “trial” or minimal check on results but eventually want/need to pay for the primary results of the report and access to the full account.
Strengths & Positives
Robust Search Options
Users commonly appreciate that Social Catfish combines searches (images, names, phone numbers) together in one location.
For due diligence on someone met online, the more “all-in-one” format makes the process more efficient.
Interface & Visual Presentation
The report types are often mentioned positively as being organized and visually understandable (cards, links, etc.).
The service is web-based, and somewhat mobile-friendly (although some critiques state there is not an app fully dedicated to mobile users).
Helpful for Scams / Catfish Prevention
For those who are not sure about a dating profile or recent acquaintance, seeing whether that person appears on other platforms with same name or identity can be both comforting (or alarming).
It is more useful as a tool (not guarantee) in being cautious with your online engagements/relationships.
Weaknesses & Criticisms
Pricing and Hidden Fees
One of the most common grievances comes from the oft presented low trial offer (like $1 or $1.99) resulting in higher, unanticipated charges (like $24.99, $39.99 or more) that were not clearly disclosed upfront. Many customers feel deceived.
Poor Customer Service and Opt Out Difficulty
Numerous users have shared difficulties canceling a subscription: unhelpful support, and that updates to opt out went unanswered. Complaints made to the Better Business Bureau said the company “refuses to honor their opt out request” as well as “is not responsive to emails.”
Accuracy and Caveats
While it does piece some things together, the service is not foolproof. Some users also feel results can be incomplete, outdated, or not accurate. Because it is reliant on public records and aggregated data, in some instances, you just may not find anything when searching.
Transparency / Trust Issues
Some reviews feel the “staged” sequence of pages prior to learning the cost of a search is also manipulative (you are committed before seeing what the cost is). The company has a poor reputation as also evidenced by the number of negative reviews on Trustpilot, Sitejabber, etc.
User Reviews & Reputation
There are quite a few negative reviews on Trustpilot, and many complaints mention hidden charges: e.g. “I paid 1$ thinking it was one-off, and then $49.99 went missing.”
If you check out their score on Sitejabber, Social Catfish is rated lowly (an average of 1.7 out of 5, based on 80+ reviews), with people complaining about value and service.
On BBB, complaints focus on either not executing removal or opt-out requests, and/or not answering requests at all.
On Reddit, the feedback is a mixed bag: some users offer positive testimonials about it being a useful tool (if not ideal), while others offer a sobering alternative. For example:
“It’s not a scam, just not this bullet-proof solution that will … find everybody.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, we would argue Social Catfish is a legitimate service in the sense that they do provide you with tools for identity verification and they aggregate public information (i.e. they are not necessarily a total scam). It could be a useful consideration, alongside other resources, to answer whether someone you meet online is legitimate or not. But there are drawbacks:
The lack of transparent pricing and surprise-hiding charges at checkout, or as reported by some customers, that some charges are user unfamiliarity.
Customer service and cancellation processes seem to have poor pedigree record.
It should not be taken as a definitive, fool-proof source. Use findings with caution.
