Fulham busted its own players in catfishing experiment to teach them social media lesson
In the wake of former English national and Sunderland winger Adam Johnson's arrest for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl he met on Facebook, Fulham F.C. decided to examine its own players' conduct on social media.
After Johnson was convicted this week on one count of sexual activity with a child, details emerged of Fulham's effort to warn its players about striking up relationships online.
According to the Evening Standard, the Championship team hired a web expert who posed as a 16-year-old girl claiming to be a Fulham supporter. The "girl" then sent messages to the team's players on Facebook. (Note: The legal age of consent to any sexual activity in the UK is 16 years.)
Former Fulham manager Kit Symons, fired by the team in Nov. 2015, revealed that several players got hooked by the catfish:
“Some of the young players fell for it as real," he said. "It was a short, sharp shock. You can tell lads about getting caught out and they’ll think ‘oh, they won’t catch me’ and then that happens, they are caught."
Although it is not illegal in the UK for the players to get involved with a 16-year-old, the point about social media dangers -- and that you may actually be talking to a 40-year-old male wearing a suit -- should have registered.