He asked her send a video to prove she was real 20 minutes before their first date — he got the reply he deserved

Online dating has made many people more cautious about who they're meeting in person. In fact, they no longer see potential partners; they view them as algorithms or catfish waiting to spring a trap. Take the recent, wildly unhinged text that one woman, Elisha Tan (@elishatan), just 20 minutes before her first date with a man, that left her questioning reality. She later shared about the experience on Instagram through a clip on 10 April 2026, which has since been viewed by over 117,000 people. 

The scheduled rendezvous

The initial plan was remarkably low-stakes. A casual afternoon meetup at a local park, located a mere 10 to 15 minutes away from where the guy was "supposedly" staying. There were no grand logistics, no reservations at a fancy restaurant, and no grueling commutes involved for either of them. To put it simply, it was supposed to be an uncomplicated introduction, but the digital baggage of modern dating was already creeping into the background. 

The security check

Just 20 minutes before the date, the man, for some reason, completely shattered the casual vibe by sending Tan a text that read like a cybersecurity protocol. Paranoia getting the better of him, he asked, "Hey, by the way, can you confirm for me you are a real person?" He then escalated it by demanding a video from Tan where she is saying his "name real fast." This was essentially a biometric proof he wanted for a simple walk in the park. 

The immediate rejection

Faced with what felt like an insulting "two-factor authentication" test just to go on a date, Tan chose not to entertain the digital paranoia. Refusing to jump through hoops just to prove her own existence to a stranger, she fired back with a definitive no, shutting down the encounter entirely even before the first date. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but joke about the entire incident as she later realized that she had missed a golden opportunity. "What I should have replied was," Tan said in a mock-serious tone, "can you send me nine photos, and I'll tell you which one contains the school bus that I want to run me down!" 

Skepticism over online dating

Although requests like this are unusual, there are a lot of concerns regarding potential online dating scams. In fact, according to a survey held by FHE Health, 51% of people present on online dating websites have been a victim of a dating scam. While all genders have fallen prey to this, males report this experience at a higher rate, with about 53.3% confirming being scammed. Because of this, 61.4% of users have had to take an intentional temporary break from these websites, mainly to safeguard their mental health. 

This is wild

Regardless, people in the comments of Tan's video couldn't help but find the situation hilarious. @benhsieh.md commented, "20 minutes before meeting is a bit wild. I think that’s where he was in the wrong; he’s about to confirm in person! However, romance scams are sooo common on these dating apps now. I’ve bumped into quite a few now." Meanwhile, @s.bwunnie noted, "Hahahhahahhahaha. You should send him now; we will be wondering if he’s real too!"

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