People are now paying an agency to STALK their dates on social media

Lonelyhearts are paying an agency to stalk their first dates online to avoid the embarrassment of being'catfished'. The paid catfish hunters trawl publicly-available posts on social networks, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and personal websites and blogs. This is used to verify whether the person on the other end of the dating app is exactly who they say they are. Dubbed Vet Your Date, the agency charges online daters a flat fee of £20 to obtain a full report of the person they're hoping to meet for an romantic date, however, a monthly subscription service is due to launch in the near future. 'Catfishing' originated as a term for the process of luring people into false relationships that has become increasingly prevalent with the rise of social media.