Is catfishing illegal? What US law says, and what to do

Whether the law can help after you're catfished depends on what the catfish did with the fake profile. Finding out a match was never the person in the photos hurts, whatever the law says.

Short answer: Catfishing, lying about who you are online, usually isn't a crime by itself, and no federal law we read on October 4, 2026 names it. It can become a crime when the catfish uses the profile in a scheme to get your money, to extort you, to harass you repeatedly in ways that cause fear or substantial distress, or to share or threaten to share intimate images, depending on their intent and each law's terms. Some states, such as Texas, also make it a crime to impersonate another person online without consent and with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten. Report it to the app, ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov.

Catfishing and US law at a glance (read on October 4, 2026)

Each row comes from the official text, read on October 4, 2026: the U.S. Code (2024 edition) and Public Law 119-12 on govinfo.gov, and each state's own statute site. This is general information, not legal advice, and only the states below were checked.

Is catfishing a crime by itself?

Usually not. None of the federal laws in the table uses the word catfishing. Neither do the state laws read for this article, with one exception.

That exception is Oklahoma. Its 12 O.S. § 1450 is titled the "Catfishing Liability Act of 2016" and took effect on November 1, 2016, according to the Oklahoma State Courts Network. It is a civil law. It covers someone who knowingly uses another person's name, photograph or likeness on social media to create a false identity, without that person's consent, to harm, intimidate, threaten or defraud that person. The injunction it offers stops use of the plaintiff's own name or photo. Whether a match who was fooled can also sue under it is a question for a lawyer.

So a fake name and borrowed photos are not, on their own, a federal crime. The law looks at what the catfish did with them: took money, made threats, harassed you, shared intimate images or stole a real person's identity.

When catfishing can become a federal crime

The table gives each maximum penalty. What follows is what each law covers, from the U.S. Code (2024 edition) and Public Law 119-12 on govinfo.gov, read October 4, 2026.

When it is about money. The wire fraud law, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, reaches a scheme to get money or property "by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises", sent by wire, radio or television "in interstate or foreign commerce". The statute's focus is the scheme: it covers someone "having devised or intending to devise" such a scheme who sends a message "for the purpose of executing" it.

When they used a real person's identity. Under federal identity-fraud law, borrowing a stranger's name is not an offense on its own. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(7), it is an offense to knowingly use another person's "means of identification", which includes a name, without lawful authority, with intent to commit, or in connection with, a federal crime or a state felony.

When it turns into harassment. The federal stalking law, 18 U.S.C. § 2261A, is about a pattern. It covers someone who, with intent to harass or intimidate, uses the internet or other electronic communication to engage in a course of conduct that places you in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes, attempts to cause, or would be reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress.

When they threaten you for money. Sextortion, a threat to share intimate images unless you pay, can fall under 18 U.S.C. § 875(d). That section makes it a crime to send "in interstate or foreign commerce" a threat to injure someone's property or reputation, with intent to extort money or any other thing of value.

When intimate images are involved. The TAKE IT DOWN Act, Public Law 119-12, was enacted on May 19, 2025, and added subsection (h) to 47 U.S.C. § 223. For a real image of an adult, knowingly publishing it online is a crime when four things are true: the image was obtained or created under circumstances in which the publisher knew or reasonably should have known the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy, what it shows was not voluntarily exposed in a public or commercial setting, it is not a matter of public concern, and publishing it is meant to cause harm or does cause harm. For AI-made "digital forgeries" of an adult, the first test is that it was published without the person's consent. For an image of a minor, real or AI-made, the test is different: knowingly publishing it is a crime when it is meant to abuse, humiliate, harass or degrade the minor, or to arouse or gratify anyone's sexual desire. Intentionally threatening to publish any of these, to intimidate, coerce, extort or cause mental distress, is also a crime.

Platforms have a duty too. Since May 19, 2026, covered platforms, including public websites and apps that mainly host user-generated content, must remove a reported image within 48 hours of a valid request and make reasonable efforts to identify and remove known identical copies, according to the law's text. The FTC enforces that duty.

State online-impersonation laws

Some states make online impersonation a crime of its own. The four below were read on each state's official statute site on October 4, 2026, and their penalties are in the table above.

• Texas. Texas Penal Code (§ 33.07) covers using "the name or persona of another person" to create a web page or send messages online, without consent and with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten.
• New York. New York Penal Law § 190.25 covers anyone who "Impersonates another by communication by internet website or electronic means with intent to obtain a benefit or injure or defraud another".
• Louisiana. La. R.S. 14:73.10 covers impersonating "another actual person" online to harm, intimidate, threaten or defraud.
• Rhode Island. R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-52-7.1 covers using another person's name or persona on a social networking site, or in an email or text, to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten.

In Washington, RCW 4.24.790 gives a lawsuit to the person whose identity was used, when the impersonation was intentional, meant to deceive or mislead in order to harass, threaten, intimidate, humiliate or defraud, and caused that person injury. Oklahoma's civil act centers on that person too.

The gap: an invented person

Each of these laws needs more than a lie. The catfish must intend to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten (or, in New York, to get a benefit), and must impersonate someone else: Louisiana says "another actual person", Texas and Rhode Island say "another person", and New York says "another".

A catfish who invents a person from scratch, with a made-up name and photos that belong to no one, may fall outside these impersonation laws. Whether "persona" reaches an invented persona is a question for a lawyer. The same catfish can still commit wire fraud if they use the fake identity in a scheme to get your money and send online messages to carry it out.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your state's law may differ, and other states were not checked for this article.

Can you sue someone for catfishing?

Sometimes. It depends on which person you are.

If someone used your photos or name. In Washington, RCW 4.24.790 lets an impersonated person recover "actual damages, injunctive relief, and declaratory relief". Oklahoma's 12 O.S. § 1450 lets you ask for an automatic injunction and says punitive damages of "no less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per individual may be awarded", according to the statute text read on October 4, 2026.

If the catfish shared your intimate images. The federal law 15 U.S.C. § 6851, enacted on March 15, 2022 and in effect since October 1, 2022, lets you sue in federal court when the person who shared them knew, or recklessly disregarded, that you had not consented. You can ask for actual damages or liquidated damages of $150,000, plus costs and attorney's fees, according to the 2024 edition of the U.S. Code. The court may also order the person you sued to stop displaying or disclosing the images.

If you were the match who was fooled. No statute read for this article clearly gives a deceived match a lawsuit just for being lied to. If you lost money, a lawyer in your state can tell you whether you have a claim.

Catfishing and romance scams

A catfish hides behind a fake identity. A romance scam is what happens when that fake identity is used to take money. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), in its 2025 IC3 Annual Report, defines confidence or romance fraud as someone who believes they are in a relationship being "tricked into sending money, personal and financial information, or items of value". The figures, and the patterns on one app, are in common Tinder scams.

What to do if you were catfished

1. Stop all payments and contact. The FTC's advice if you suspect a romance scam: "Stop communicating with the person immediately."
2. Call your bank or payment app right away. The FTC says to tell them you paid a scammer and ask them to refund your money.
3. Keep everything: messages, profile screenshots, the username and payment receipts. IC3 does not accept attachments and asks you to keep all original documents in a secure location.
4. Report the profile. Bumble takes reports in the app, and if you have already unmatched, its support team asks for screenshots of your conversations if you have them. For impersonation, Hinge's help center points you to its request form and says screenshots help.
5. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and at ic3.gov. IC3 asks people to file "even if you are unsure of whether your complaint qualifies".
6. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local police.

Not sure the photos were stolen? A reverse image search of a dating photo can show whether they appear elsewhere under another name.

Where to report catfishing

If someone threatens to share your photos

The FTC's advice: "Ignore their demands. Don’t pay them." Cut off all contact and report it to the police and the FBI. Then ask the platform to take the image down. Under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a covered platform must remove the image within 48 hours of a valid request and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies, according to the law's text. The FTC's guidance, read on October 4, 2026, puts it as removing the image "and known identical copies, within 48 hours of your request." If the platform doesn't act within 48 hours, report it at the FTC's TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

Before the next first date

Most matches are who they say they are. TrulyWho shows a match's public accounts, photos and work from their email or phone in about a minute, and whether their photo shows up on other pages under other names. For the date itself, read how to stay safe on a first date, and if all you have is a number, see how to find someone's social media by phone number.

FAQ

Can you go to jail for catfishing?

Jail is possible when the catfishing involves another crime. Federal wire fraud carries up to 20 years in prison, or up to 30 if it affects a financial institution, according to the U.S. Code (2024 edition, read October 4, 2026). Some states make online impersonation of another person, done to harm or defraud, a crime of its own. Louisiana's statute allows 10 days to 6 months in jail, according to La. R.S. 14:73.10 read October 4, 2026, and other states differ. A fake profile with no money, threats or stolen identity behind it usually isn't a crime.

Can the police do anything about catfishing?

Police can act when the catfish's conduct may be a crime, such as fraud, extortion, stalking or sharing intimate images. Call 911 or your local police if you are in immediate danger. For online fraud, file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, which says complaints may be referred to federal, state, local or international law enforcement. IC3 does not accept attachments. It asks you to keep all original documents in a secure location and says an agency that opens an investigation may request the information directly from you.

Can I report someone for catfishing if I didn't lose money?

Yes. Tinder and Bumble take reports in the app, and Hinge's help center takes impersonation reports. Tinder's Community Guidelines, read October 4, 2026, ban fake accounts "even if it’s just for fun", so a fake profile breaks the rules whether or not you lost money. Bumble's reports are anonymous, so the person won't know it was you. If you were threatened or harassed, report that to the police as well.

Is it illegal to use someone else's photos on a dating profile?

It can be. Texas, New York, Louisiana and Rhode Island make it a crime to impersonate another person online with intent to harm or defraud, according to each state's statute text read on October 4, 2026. Washington lets the person whose identity was used sue, and Oklahoma gives a civil lawsuit to "the person or persons injured". Where no law applies, a dating app can still remove a fake profile. This is general information, not legal advice.

Is AI catfishing illegal?

AI catfishing can be wire fraud when an AI-made persona is part of a scheme to get money. The TAKE IT DOWN Act, Public Law 119-12, enacted on May 19, 2025, also makes it a crime to knowingly publish realistic AI-made intimate "digital forgeries" of an adult without consent when its other conditions are met. Threatening to publish one, to intimidate, coerce, extort or cause mental distress, can also be a crime. The FBI's 2025 IC3 Annual Report says scammers use fake profiles and scripts from AI chat generators to sound more believable.