He spent hours texting the perfect woman on a dating app, but her real identity sent him running for his life

TikTok user Mike (@swisherprice) recently shared a terrifying experience about getting catfished on a dating app in Los Angeles, realizing the woman he’d been texting for hours was actually a mysterious man holding a duffel bag who was trying to set him up. This isn’t just a tale of romantic disappointment; it’s a serious warning about the dangers lurking on dating platforms.

Mike explained in a video that this happened just a few years ago after he’d moved to LA. He was trying to get to know the area and meet some people. He connected with someone on an app and spent several hours chatting with this person. Everything seemed fine, leading to an invitation for drinks that same evening, according to Bro Bible.

He borrowed his brother’s car and headed out, but things immediately felt off. The location was eerily quiet, parked right next to a shady-looking storage facility. When he arrived, the “woman” told him she couldn’t see him and asked him to get out of the car so she could find him. Mike says he immediately felt uneasy about the area, so he wisely stayed inside his vehicle. He noted that the person texting him was starting to be “dodgy on some of the questions.”

Be careful who you meet online

That’s when the real red flag popped up. Mike saw a guy get out of a nearby car. This man was holding a phone and, critically, a duffel bag. Mike says the warning bells went off immediately. The person texting him then claimed they’d accidentally sent the wrong address and quickly forwarded an updated location. This is awful for establishing trust, but Mike admitted he was still curious about the setup.

Unfortunately, the second spot was just as sketchy, near some apartments and another storage area. Mike waited four or five minutes, going back and forth on the text chain, until the guy with the duffel bag reappeared. That’s when the truth became crystal clear. Mike decided to test his theory. “I send a message. I see him look at his phone, type back a message, and I get a message,” he recalled.

Despite knowing he was in danger, Mike admitted he was curious about the whole situation. He finally asked the “woman” point-blank if she was with the guy outside. She denied it, claiming the duffel bag man was just a friend who was going to meet Mike and show him the way up to her apartment. That was the final straw for Mike. He decided the danger seriously outweighed his curiosity, and he drove away immediately. He kept receiving texts denying it was a setup, but Mike strongly believes he had escaped a serious threat.

Mike’s experience is a strong reminder that “these apps out here are sketchy,” he said. “They can be very dangerous. You don’t know who you’re talking to. Please, proceed with caution. Share your location with friends.” It’s like a Catfish episode on MTV going off the rails.