Catfishing is illegal in CA? I got this from a law site:
Under California Penal Code 529 PC, you commit the crime of false impersonation when you:
- Falsely personate someone (that is, pretend to be them) in their public or private capacity; and
- Perform any other act that might cause the person you are impersonating to become liable to a lawsuit or prosecution or become obligated to pay money, or which might cause you to get some benefit from impersonating him/her.2
Examples
Here are some examples of people who might be charged with false personation under PC 529:
- A drunk woman is confronted on the street by a police officer. When asked her name, she gives him the name of a co-worker. She then struggles with the officer, engaging in behavior that can lead to charges of resisting arrest.
- A man steals his cousin's utility bill and uses it to open a library card in his cousin's name. He then uses this card to borrow a bunch of books he does not intend to return.
- After her husband is arrested, a woman goes to a bail bond company, pretends to be her mother, and secures bail for her husband by signing her mother's name.