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Dating Site Takes On Social Media Dangers Of ‘Maskfishing’

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This article is more than 3 years old.

The age of Coronavirus gave birth to more than just sickness, panic and lockdowns. The realities of dealing with Covid-19 presented scammers and cons new ways to plague innocent people.

Mask mandates aimed at keeping us all from spitting viruses all over each other hide our faces from each other. Those criminals and liars are now using those tools of both doctor sand bandits to hide their real identities and commit the new deception called “maskfishing.”

It’s the latest ugly dating trend, joining the likes of “ghosting” — similar to catfishing or the act of pretending to be someone else to manipulate of dupe a would-he romantic partner. The idea of maskfishing hides the originators face in an effort to trick someone into accepting a date or other romantic proposition. Its perpetrators look to pervert the medical practice of wearing protective face gear into a way of manipulating strangers.

To keep the individuals from pitching a masked face to the social media world, one online dating service is outlawing profile photos with masks to make sure users know what each other looks like. The app and dating program, AdultFriendFinder – the self-proclaimed “largest adult camming and casual dating site with over 100 million registered users worldwide” — put in placer the “No Maskfishing Mandate.”

The site’s users can no longer use pictures with masks on their dating profiles. To enforce this new rule, the adult dating program will use artificial intelligent to flag and stop masked pictures before upload.

At least, the mandate looks to make sure users know the mug of the man or woman they’re talking to online. At best, it should deter some hustlers looking to con anyone looking for love.

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