One thing some people seem to be confused about catfishing is that it isn't always related to money. Catfishers may not always want money for their victims. Instead, they might be interested in playing emotional games with them, in case they have personal self-insecurity issues.

I think that catfishing is only existent because of creation of the internet. This is because catfishing is always online these days. It would be hard to see it in other medias, since in order for it to be effective, there needs to be communication, interchanging of images, and even audio communication (though phone or other methods). The point of it is that the scammer needs to communicate with their victim, and what better way than through the internet using applications and specific software.

For someone online to want to be serious in a relationship with you fast, already seems like a give away of their devious intentions. And this is probably because they want to be able to ask you for money soon too. The faster they get you in the mood of being in a relationship, the faster they can start asking because you (the victim) will feel to have a commitment of some sort.

I see this being even more the case with many of the catfishers who are from overseas.

It makes total sense why catfishers would use images of overly-attractive people. The primary intention must be to fully seduce their victim and keep them interested. Also, to make it harder for the victim to say "no," to their demands.

Her example is a good one of how these scammers take advantage of good people with good intentions. Perhaps, they make such people their primary target, since they know that get what they want.

$230 million is a large amount money, for an online scam. And to think that this is coming from only about 15% of the people who reported.

This is truly a sad phenomenon happen nowadays. So may people are deceived, when looking for love online. And the amount of money they can loose is a big concern, as a result of these people who call themselves "catfishers".