These three terms get used interchangeably, but they describe different tactics with different goals — and knowing which one you're dealing with changes what you should do next.

Catfishing

Catfishing means using a fake identity — someone else's photos, a fabricated name and backstory — to build an online relationship. Catfishing is the method, not necessarily the motive: some catfish accounts are run for financial scams, some for emotional manipulation with no money involved, and some, rarely, by people who are lonely or insecure about their real appearance rather than pursuing a scam at all. Every romance scam involves some degree of catfishing, but not every catfish is running a financial scam.

Romance scams

A romance scam is specifically financially motivated: the fake identity exists to build enough trust to eventually request money, gifts, gift cards, crypto, or access to accounts. The relationship itself is the tool; the payout is the goal.

Sextortion

Sextortion is different in mechanism: it involves obtaining explicit images or video — sometimes through a mutual exchange, sometimes through a compromised video call, sometimes through a fabricated deepfake — and then threatening to share them with the target's contacts, employer, or publicly unless a payment is made. It typically moves much faster than a romance scam, often within a single conversation or day, and relies on shame and panic rather than long-term trust-building.

Why the distinction matters for what to do next

With a financial romance scam, the priority is to stop payments, preserve evidence, and report to a fraud authority. With sextortion, the priority is different and time-sensitive: do not pay (payment rarely stops further threats and often invites more), stop all contact, preserve the threatening messages, and report immediately to the platform and to law enforcement — in the US, the FBI and NCMEC's CyberTipline if a minor is involved. Platforms like Meta also offer tools (including StopNCII.org) to help prevent intimate images from being shared further.

If you are currently being threatened with the release of images or video, do not send any payment. Stop responding, save everything, and report to the platform and to law enforcement right away.