The internet has spawned a completely new kind of fraud—so prevalent, it even has its own psychological definition, the ‘online disinhibition effect’.
Why do people show a lack of restraint in their communications online, when they seem to abide by the usual social norms IRL (in real life, get with it kids). Here, we’re taking a deep dive into the phenomenon, how it manifests and why you really need to know about it when you’re hiring or networking.
Consider this your i-Spy pocket guide to corporate catfishing and online disinhibition. Discover why people behave differently online (we’re talking social media oversharing, fake influencers and trolling), read some famous catfishing examples in the name of research, and learn to spot the online signs of when someone isn’t quite who they say they are.
Read on to enlighten yourself about the darker side of the internet, and reinforce your business resilience in the process!
What is corporate catfishing?
Over the past couple of decades, we’ve become a society obsessed with catfishing. Cases of online fraud and social media scams have rocketed, with 40% of all UK crimes relating to fraud, and four fifths of these being cyber-enabled, according to the National Crime Agency. According to a 2023 survey, a staggering 22% of UK adults have experienced romantic catfishing, a dating scam often executed with the intention of financially defrauding the victim.
What does this have to do with the business world, you might ask? Unsurprisingly, catfishing is no longer limited to the confines of romance scams. Many organisations are increasingly coming into contact with people who embellish or falsify information about themselves in order to acquire a job role, a business partnership or investment. This is nothing new, with corporate fraud one of the oldest crimes in the book, but the methods by which business catfishers achieve their purpose has become more digital…and difficult to spot.
Criminals can set up fake social media profiles to attract sales and investment for scam businesses, while it’s increasingly simple for individuals to falsify information about their educational or employment credentials, to pull the wool over the eyes of prospective employers.
Corporate catfishing can go both ways as well—the term is actually often used to describe the behaviour of companies who misrepresent their culture or success to attract good job candidates.
In whatever context you come across it, corporate catfishing is bad news for businesses—in 2023 alone, more than £612 million was lost to investment fraud in the UK, according to the City of London Police. And while financial fraud is the better known consequence of corporate catfishing, another more subtle form of cyber fraud might be right under your nose, in which the person you’re looking to hire or collaborate with is disguising a sinister online alter-ego. This more psychologically nuanced form of online deception has even garnered its own name—the online disinhibition effect.
What is online disinhibition?
Online disinhibition refers to the way that some individuals demonstrate a lack of restraint when creating or sharing content online, behaving differently in an online space to how they would in real life.
Social media oversharing is a common example of online disinhibition, and while this can be relatively harmless, toxic disinhibition is a much nastier branch of the same psychological phenomenon. Toxic disinhibition is when people have a tendency to be meaner online than they would in a real life context. Taken to the extreme, it can lead to bullying, trolling, stalking and other antisocial behaviours.
There are a number of theories as to what causes online disinhibition, ranging from loneliness to the ‘privacy calculus effect’, in which individuals weigh privacy concerns against the potential benefits of seeking validation or gratification online. There is also a sense of protection and ‘invisibility’ when posting or commenting online, which may cause individuals to feel separated from their real-life selves and more empowered to speak without consequence as a result.
Why are corporate catfishing and online disinhibition related?
You might think that business fraud is a world away from social media oversharing, but you’d be wrong.
While oversharing personal information on social media can point to particular personality traits, such as anxiety or a need for peer validation, this probably doesn’t need to be a cause of serious concern for employers screening candidates.
On the other hand, evidence of online disinhibition really should be a red flag for those looking to hire a candidate. Let’s say you interview a candidate who is polite and well-mannered face-to-face, but then you discover (through a comprehensive background screening process) that said person comes across completely differently online. Perhaps they frequently use derogatory language in their posts, aim troll-style comments at other users on X, or engage with controversial content.
This is the exact reason why social media screening is becoming increasingly important in recruitment and in business more widely. In today’s online hiring environment, it is difficult to confirm exactly who you’re talking to, and what they are really like—both on and offline. Bringing a bad hire into your business who engages in negative online activities, such as toxic disinhibition, trolling or cyberbullying runs the risk of bringing the individual into contact with other employees or clients who could be adversely affected by their behaviour, as well as proving to be extremely damaging to a business’ reputation.
With that in mind, it’s wise to brush up on your techniques for identifying signs of online disinhibition when reviewing an individual’s social media or other online output, such as blogs, YouTube channels or forum comments. Read on…and wise up!
Hiring? Watch out for these 5 signs of online disinhibition
Looking to hire someone, find a great business partner or network with the right people? A social media screening report or online reputation audit will certainly bring some crucial information to light before you sign on the dotted line.
The biggest challenge is knowing how to interpret the data presented in such a report, and spot warning signs about a person that might be subtle or difficult to identify. While intelligent background screening such as YOONO goes a long way in bringing smart insights to your attention, it’s still good due diligence to know how to identify any signs of online disinhibition yourself.
The following disinhibition examples are commonplace in online content, acting as warning signs for you to check if somebody behaves differently or irresponsibly in a digital environment:
1. The person uses expletives or offensive language regularly or semi-regularly
Most people don’t swear and curse all the time in real life. It’s not usually socially acceptable, especially in a work environment, so if they are turning the air blue online it’s an indication that they either have a non-professional conduct or have some serious anger issues.
2. The person is a chronic oversharer
We’ve all probably participated in a little social media oversharing from time to time, or know someone who frequently oversteps the personal/private boundary in their Instagram posts. While health updates and by-the-minute life updates are usually innocent examples of someone simply oversharing a little more than the average person, evidence that the person is a serial oversharer is usually a sign of something more concerning.
Excessively attention-seeking behaviour or an inability to respect the privacy of others by oversharing information about other people, not just themselves, should be regarded with caution, as these might indicate a lack of tact and professionalism in the workplace as well.
3. The person targets others with impolite or inappropriate comments
A sure sign of toxic online disinhibition is when people turn their (unwanted) attention to others. This might manifest as nasty comments, targeted messaging at particular individuals or an unhealthy interest in responding to posts with negative comments. In more extreme cases, this can be an indicator of more serious anti-social behaviour, such as cyberbullying, trolling, stalking or catfishing.
4. The person is a frequent user of forums and posts controversial content
Forums can present two opposing sides of the internet—on the one hand they provide an outlet for people seeking useful answers or to find their online community, but on the other they can become a hotbed of controversy and hate-fuelled opinion. If the person comments and shares on forums, that should really be of no concern to an employer, but if they are frequently posting forum content that relates to controversial themes, hate speech or intentionally stirs up negative opinion, this is a serious red flag that the person might be living a sinister double life.
5. The person makes unwanted sexual advances towards others online
Did YOONO that more than 90% of women surveyed reported that they had received unwanted sexual propositions on LinkedIn? This staggering statistic might surprise you, given that LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, but the truth is that online sexual harassment is alarmingly common and often appears in contexts that sit outside of dating apps or Instagram DMs.
While sexual harassment is often conducted through private messaging, some offenders will be brazen, propositioning victims through social media comments or public messages. If you spot signs that the person has targeted another individual in this way, or behaves like this regularly, using inappropriate language or uninvited solicitation, you should be extremely wary of taking them to the next stage of your hiring process.
Is online disinhibition a deal-breaker for hirers?
In this article we’ve looked at the murky and complex issue of online disinhibition, and its related neighbour, corporate catfishing. Between social media oversharing and full-blown cyberbullying lies a nuanced range of disinhibition telltale signs, which can be difficult to spot and make it even trickier to confirm whether a person is who they say they are.
The biggest challenge is knowing how to interpret the data presented in such a report, and spot warning signs about a person that might be subtle or difficult to identify. While intelligent background screening such as YOONO goes a long way in bringing smart insights to your attention, it’s still good due diligence to know how to identify any signs of online disinhibition yourself.
The following disinhibition examples are commonplace in online content, acting as warning signs for you to check if somebody behaves differently or irresponsibly in a digital environment:
So how do YOONO who they really are?
Spotting the warning signs of online disinhibition or digital fakery is becoming increasingly vital for employers, who need to ensure the people they bring on board know how to conduct themselves professionally both in person and online. The only way to really know who you’re talking to is with a complete background search that covers all bases.
With a YOONO search, you can find out if their online persona matches the impression they give in real life. A YOONO report brings you intelligent data about the individual’s social media use, employment history and credentials, leaving no stone unturned. No need for guesswork—smart insights analyse subtleties like turn of phrase to give you a complete sense of their personality and whether they’ll be the perfect fit for your business. Start with a simple search today, and see how much YOONO now!
