Whether it's out of revenge, loneiless, curiosity, or boredom, an emerging class of internet predators are finding excuses and ways to scam their way into relationships online with people who unknowingly fall for it unexpectantly.
The fabricated life stories and photographs that these scammer's, or "Catfish", put together online often contain the experiences, friends, resumes and job titles that they wish were their own, providing a complete window into how these scammers want the world to see them, which is often times vastly different from their real lives.
The emergence of such elaborate social schemes online was brought to light in a shocking way in the 2010 documentary "Catfish" which turned into the TV show "Catfish". (which has been previously explained). More recently, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick used the term "catfish" to describe a hoax that his star linebacker, Manti Te'o apparently fell for.
The "Catfish" phenomenon is becoming more prevelant with the tricks of technology and the publicity and "fame" that can potentially come with being a catfish or being catfished. It has become a genre all it's own is taking the internet and unsuspecting fools by storm.