Amouranth explains how dangerous “catfish” trend is making Twitch stalking worse

Twitch’s biggest streamers are impersonated almost every day and often the process of taking down accounts is outpaced by the creation of fake users. In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Amouranth opened up about her experience with stalkers and a dangerous “catfish” trend that is making matters worse.

Kaitlyn ‘Amouranth’ Siragusa is one of the biggest content creators in the world, with over 6.2 million followers on Twitch, and she has also recorded over $27 million in OnlyFans earnings. If there’s a big trend in streaming – from hot tub broadcasts or ASMR – there’s a good chance she’s jumping on it or has already pioneered it.

While many small streamers may aspire to achieve those same heights, there is a dark side to the fame. Amouranth has previously been followed to TwitchCon by stalkers and, in a terrifying story, one alleged stalker from Estonia sold all their belongings to travel to her PO box location.

“I’m sorry that it took me too long to get here. It was a hell of a challenge,” the man said, captured by Siragusa’s security cameras in June 2022. He was later arrested.

Speaking to Dexerto, Amouranth discussed a dangerous development that could be a catalyst for more stalking incidents in the future.

Amouranth on Twitch streamer stalkers

During the sit-down, the entrepreneur touched upon some of the circumstances that lead people to overstep boundaries with the streamers they watch.

“I think the main issue is that they don’t realize they are crossing lines. That’s mostly due to not having adequate social experience in person.

“They probably don’t actually have others who notice them, acknowledge them, or engage in conversation – and if they do, it’s especially not from people who are attracted to them of the opposite sex.”

She also noted some viewers with mental disorders, such as autism, have been known to form parasocial relationships with Twitch broadcasters.

Amouranth reporting over 50 fake accounts per month

The 29-year-old streamer also said there have been instances in which impersonators have arranged to meet up with viewers. By luring others into a relationship using a fictional persona, thesecatfish accounts pretend to be Amouranth to fleece targets.

“A lot of times, which is also scary, they might not have any disorder,” she said. “They might be a perfectly sane person but somebody has been catfishing as you on social media trying to get money out of these guys, roleplaying a relationship like they are actually interested.

“Then you think they are a stalker, and they actually think you have been talking to them on a different account and engaging in an online relationship with them.”

She also recalled a story where a fan reached out after sending over $1,600 to another account impersonating Amouranth online.

“Pretty much every day somebody in my chat says there’s a fake account of you on Facebook or Instagram uploading your content. I guess monthly, we probably report like 50 fake accounts we are alerted to every month, over different platforms, and I’m sure there’s, even more, we don’t even see.”

Both Instagram and Facebook have support pages for users to report sham accounts, should fans of any streamer notice suspected catfish users on those platforms.

While there is the potential that the perpetrators shift from public to private forums in response to increased awareness of the tend, it is a positive – at least – to see one of Twitch’s most prominent streamers working proactively to mitigate the impact of those who use her name and likeness for their own personal gain.

For more information from this interview, read more about Amouranth’s partnership with content monetization platform, Slushy, here.