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catfishin' 

Purporting to be someone or something you are not on the Internet in order to gain friends, attention, partners, pity, sympathy or money. Named after the faux-documentary "Catfish", Catfishers have been known to post fake pictures of themselves (including but not limited to catalog images), claim to have a dying fiance or mother, or create an entirely fictional version of themselves.
Uh oh, did you see that perfectly posed photo of Donna she posted? That girl is so catfishin'.

Oh man, I heard Northlad's girlfriend is really sick. I sure hope he isn't catfishin' us.
catfishin' by ksmwhat August 6, 2012

Catfishing 

The phenomenon of internet predators that fabricate online identities and entire social circles to trick people into emotional/romantic relationships (over a long period of time).

Possible motivations: revenge, loneliness, curiosity, boredom

The term catfishing was inspired by the 2010 documentary "Catfish."
Gwen was worried that her online boyfriend was a phoney after she saw a TV program about Catfishing.
Catfishing by 2Sweet&Naive February 1, 2013

emotional catfishing

when a fuckboy establishes a connection with you to lure you in and then proceeds to expose their true fuckboy tendencies
I hate emotional catfishing I thought we had something for sure. turns out he just wanted to fuck me

Catfishing 

Hiding who you really are to hook someone into an online relationship using Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, MySpace or by cell phone.
Guy 1: "Hey so I met this new girl online! She is so hot!"
Guy 2: "Have you ever seen her in person?"
Guy 1:"No, does that matter?"
Guy 2: "Better make sure she's not a catfish.."
Guy 1: "You think she's catfishing?!"
Catfishing by Hope Swan January 20, 2014

Chatfishing 

The act of using chatgpt to catfish on dating sites
So basically the bot was putting my messages and info into ChatGPT and letting it do all the thinking and writing. It was Chatfishing me!
Chatfishing by Swooqity May 4, 2023

Catfishing for compliments

When someone lacking in confidence creates a hotter online persona to get attention from the opposite sex.
Morgan had low self esteem so she made a fake profile using her gorgeous cousin Heather's pics and went catfishing for compliments.