Make catfishing a specific criminal offence under coercive control laws
I want the Government to acknowledge not just the financial damage, but the emotional damage that can be caused by someone who uses lies and manipulation to obtain money, property, a caretaker and the mental health of another human being by means of deception and creating a fake identity.
Signatures
44
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 44/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 44/100,000
- 10 FEB 2026Petition opened for signaturesCreated by Kirsty Targett
Background
I believe people need to be held accountable for the financial damage, trauma and mental damage they can cause by lying about their identity to get something they want. The lies can be so calculated that a person may be able to use the victim’s emotions to coerce them into giving them whatever they want.
This can leave the victim not only with financial debt, but it can also take years to heal from emotional abuse and coercive behaviour. It can leave so much emotional damage that I believe it should be a criminal offence and punishable under the same laws as coercive control.