Catfishing is, unfortunately, a common thing on the internet. You would start a conversation with a person only to discover they are someone else. People do it for fun in most cases, but they might also have malicious intentions.
To counter the issue, Social Catfish has developed a tool that allows you to discover the identity of almost anyone online. The software can assist you in searching for names, phone numbers, addresses, emails, etc. It can even be a useful marketing tool.
This Social Catfish review will go through the available tools and main features and how they might help you.
Pros & Cons
Pricing Plans
Social Searches
Image Searches
Search Specialist
$5.73/5 days then $27.48 per month
$5.99/5 days then $26.99 per month
One-time fee
of $297
Features
Social Catfish is a platform with various purposes. However, most people utilize it for conforming identities on dating sites. Nowadays, it’s common for individuals to pretend they are someone else—they might be of a different gender, age or nationality.
The available tools can help you make sure the person on the other side of the screen is who they claim to be.
Name Lookup
Most people use Social Catfish for Tinder lookup. The tool goes through social networks, education and government data, news articles, public databases, and professional records to get the most relevant results.
You only need to enter the person’s name and country of origin to start the process. After the initial search, Social Catfish will retrieve a list of online profiles, each with a set of data. You can check the individual’s city and country, gender, possible associates, web usernames, and account IDs.
The research for our Social Catfish review showed that, at first, most data would be limited. For example, you won’t see full usernames and account IDs, so you can’t quickly track all these people yourself. However, you can access the information by performing an additional search.
When you click on the “See Complete Results” button, the platform will further analyze the available online data from dating sites and apps, chat apps, and social media. Once ready, the report will show the names that person used on the internet, addresses, images, usernames, relationships, and affiliations.
Keep in mind that while some of this data is available for free, Social Catfish’s services are paid. So, you won’t see the individual’s images and other data unless you pay for it.
Reverse Image Lookup
Image search is especially important for dating site users. If a person has a photo on a site and you have the option to download it, you can quickly authenticate whether this is the same individual. However, it can also be utilized in some other situations.
For Social Catfish reverse image search, you have to upload the JPG or PNG file, and the tool will retrieve the results. The platform compares your file to the existing images on the web to find a match. That way, it’ll connect it to a particular person.
Scraping the web for text is different from browsing images, so the company charges these services separately. So, Social Catfish image search isn’t free and requires you to subscribe to the “Unlimited Social Searches” plan.
Phone Lookup
Phone lookup is much more straightforward than the name search, as it takes you directly to the advanced screen. Because there can be only one person with that specific phone number, you don’t need to refine your search to find the right individual.
This feature will retrieve all available data about the person. That means you can check their social media, relationships, addresses, usernames, and all other information that Social Catfish managed to acquire, scraping through billions of web results.
Like Social Catfish image search, phone lookup isn’t necessarily used to check someone’s identity. Instead, the majority of users utilize it to reconnect with long-lost friends. Alternatively, you can use it to confirm whether a person gave you the right number.
Unfortunately, reverse phone lookup also has its issues. If a shady person finds your phone number, they can use this information to collect other personal data available on Social Catfish.
Address Lookup
According to Social Catfish reviews, this is one of the best tools on the platform. It’s somewhat different from the other options on the list, as it focuses on property information and not necessarily personal data.
You can use the address search to learn more about homeowners, property deeds and specifications, and gain valuable financial insights. It’s also a good way to research property before making a purchasing decision.
You can get valuable data in one report without scraping the internet for relevant information. However, you can also use it to check the surrounding houses. Social Catfish reviews point out that you can see if there are sex offenders or other criminals in the neighborhood.
Real estate companies would benefit the most from the address lookup feature as they have to assess properties continuously. They can utilize the platform regularly to understand different neighborhoods and areas better.
Email Lookup
This particular feature is especially great if you’re trying to protect yourself from scammers. Every once in a while, we receive messages from suspicious characters. Unfortunately, some people can easily fall for these phishing tactics.
Email lookup is a good way to avoid such problems, and you can easily find a Social Catfish discount code to reduce costs. It can be used for almost any type of financial transaction, including sales on Craigslist and other websites. For example, you can use it to confirm the authenticity of the seller or buyer before transferring virtual assets.
Username Lookup
Many people on the internet use aliases, so username lookup is especially great if you wish to reconnect with internet friends.
Many organizations use this feature to verify the identity of customers before continuing negotiation and sales. Among other things, you can utilize this function to check all known associations and see whether this individual has done business with other companies.
Opt-out
Social Catfish opt-out is something every person can utilize whether they paid for the platform’s tools or not. With this function, you can remove your information from the website.
The feature is especially important for popular influencers or anyone who might feel stalked. You can avert users from accessing your data, thus preventing any online or physical attacks and harassment.
Keep in mind that your personal information might still pop up if you create new emails, usernames, or post images. So, while the platform can help you out, it’s very hard to erase your identity from the web. It’s an excellent feature, and only a handful of Social Catfish alternative websites allow it.
Ease of Use
Social Catfish is very straightforward to use. In fact, collecting the initial data required for a search can be much harder than analyzing it through the platform.
All you need to do is type in information within the bar, and the tool will retrieve results. For some of the features, such as name lookup, you’ll have to browse a bit until you find the right match. Nonetheless, scanning through the results can be tedious, but it’s not complicated.
Social Catfish has various educational resources you can check out. They explain what catfishing is and how to avoid it.
Plans & Pricing
Here’s some information about Social Catfish cost and plans:
- Unlimited Social Search — $5.73 for five days and a $27.48 monthly fee afterward
- Unlimited Image Search — $5.99 for five days and a $26.99 monthly fee afterward
- In-Depth Search — $297 for one report
Unlimited Social Search is the basic plan, but you won’t be able to use image search with this plan. Still, it can help you a lot when performing a background search.
Unlimited Image Search is only useful if you can access the person’s images. This plan doesn’t allow you to utilize the name, email, username, or phone search. Also, you can easily cancel Social Catfish if, at any point, you don’t need it.
Lastly, the In-Depth Search plan is beneficial for people who have lost connection with a relative and want to reach them. These experts can provide great results even with limited data.
Refund Policy
Getting a refund from the company can be a bit tricky. When you check their policy, you’ll notice that all orders are subject to the company’s acceptance. In other words, Social Catfish has the option of accepting or rejecting your subscription. If they reject it, for whatever reason, you’ll be immediately refunded.
If you wish to get money back, at your own request, you’ll have to contact Social Catfish customer service via phone or email.
Online Ratings
Many people are split regarding their satisfaction. Some users praise it as it has helped them find long-lost relatives, while others are entirely dissatisfied with its performance. For example, Trustpilot users gave it an overall score of 3.7 out of 5. Similarly, Sitejabber gave it 3.1 out of 5, and Better Business Bureau ranked it with 2.4.
The reason behind such split reviews is that other platforms, including Google, provide similar tools for free. Consequently, people are asking themselves whether Social Catfish is legit.
Despite skepticism, this tool is what it says it is: a catfishing preventer. People in the dating sphere use it regularly to check the identity of another person. In that regard, it should do an excellent job for any user.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Can be used for various inquiries
- Provides quick and valid results
- Pricing depends on the used tools
- Recognizes suspicious and scam email addresses
- Specialists available for hire
- Easy to use
Cons
- Results are somewhat similar to Google search
- Convoluted refund policy
Value for Money — Final Verdict
As we discussed in our Social Catfish review, the platform’s main purpose is to uncover the true identity of people on dating sites. While it can be convenient, keep in mind that it’s still limited to publicly available information.
Although people have mixed feelings about its services, it’s best to try it and see if it works for you. Social Catfish is pretty straightforward, and you won’t need any technical knowledge to use it. Its prices are affordable, and you can easily unsubscribe when you don’t need it.