-styled profile, pass it by. Why? Because the act of dating is to get to know about the person, but not all at once. Your life should not be an open book to a stranger. Saying way too much or putting way too much personal information out there is a no, no. The same goes for scanty/vague profiles; these types of profiles tend to be a sentence or two of gibberish — nothing concrete on describing the person's interests. When creating a dating profile, have a great title or catchphrase, have a least a paragraph describing you, and what you are looking for in a potential mate.
Next is the grieving widower — generally, a male who states that his loving wife died in a horrible accident. His reasoning is to get you to feel saddened by the ordeal, and once you feel sorry for this guy, you tend to let your guard down. These individuals tie right in with the scammy overseas worker. These con artists trick unsuspecting people into sending them money. Never under any circumstances, send money to anyone you meet online. The best way to avoid this level of catfishing is to choose a popular and reputable dating site where you have to pay for the service. Dating sites like E-Harmony, Match.com do basic screenings on their members, but you have to do your due diligence and find out for yourself just who you are indeed getting to know or dating. Although online dating can be tricky, this was not intended to shy you away from experience, but rather teach you to be more aware of what goes on in the online dating arena.
Further Reading:
https://socialcatfish.com/13-best-ways-avoid-being-catfished/
http://lastfirstdate.com/avoid-the-catfish-in-online-dating/#sthash.rzobTvFL.dpbs
http://www.mensfitness.com/life/gearandtech/dos-and-donts-online-dating