Short answer
Yes. Catfishing, pretending to be someone else online with fake photos or a fake identity, is haram. It is lying and deception, it often uses another person's pictures without consent, and it usually leads to haram online relationships. Using it to get money is fraud on top of that.
Deceiving people with a false identity is haram. Using someone's photos without permission wrongs them, a romantic relationship with a non-mahram is haram, and taking money by deceit is theft by fraud that must be returned.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Catfishing means building a fake online persona, usually with someone else's photos, to draw a person into a friendship or romance. It breaks several clear rules at once. The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Whoever cheats us is not one of us.' He also said that a person who shows off what he was not given is like someone wearing two garments of falsehood. A fake profile is exactly that.
The sins add up:
- Lying: every message under a false name and face is a lie.
- Wronging the person whose photos you use: their image is used without consent, and it can damage their reputation.
- Harming the victim: people are left heartbroken and humiliated. Hurting a believer without cause is a serious sin.
- Haram relationships: flirting and romance with a non-mahram are not allowed in any case. See talking to a non-mahram online.
- Fraud: if gifts or money are taken, they must be returned.
Using a username instead of your real name, or not showing your face online for modesty, is not catfishing. Privacy is fine; pretending to be a different real person is the problem.
If you have done this, stop, delete the profile, apologise to those you deceived where that will not cause more harm, return any money and ask Allah's forgiveness. If you are being catfished, end contact, report the profile and talk to someone you trust. The four schools agree on this ruling.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Ahzaab 33:58
وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا ٱكْتَسَبُوا۟ فَقَدِ ٱحْتَمَلُوا۟ بُهْتَٰنًۭا وَإِثْمًۭا مُّبِينًۭا ﴿٥٨﴾
And those who harm believing men and believing women for [something] other than what they have earned have certainly born upon themselves a slander and manifest sin.
Harming innocent people is a slander and a clear sin.
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:29
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَٰرَةً عَن تَرَاضٍۢ مِّنكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًۭا ﴿٢٩﴾
O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.
Taking money by deceit is forbidden.
Sahih Muslim 101
Sahih... من غشنا فليس منا ...
"Whoever cheats us is not one of us."
Deceiving people is forbidden.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5219
Sahih... المتشبع بما لم يعط كلابس ثوبي زور ...
"The one who shows off with what he was not given is like one who wears two garments of falsehood."
Presenting a false self is a form of lying.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hazr wa al-Ibaha, on lying and deception. Lying and deceit are haram.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.