In the world of catfishing, it’s sadly common for people to steal social media pictures to lure an online love interest.
But one woman has discovered that this deceptive practice has gotten a lot more sophisticated.
Jessica Hunt was scrolling through her Instagram feed on the weekend when she came across a picture. A picture that looked strikingly like one she’d recently uploaded.
Because it was.
Right there on the screen was her kitchen, her dress, her body. But somehow even more disturbingly, not her face.
This is it.
“OH MY GOD,” the British woman wrote on Twitter. “That is my body and my house but who’s [sic] face is that!?!? Catfish game is getting silly.”
Catfishing refers to the practice of posing as someone else online in order to lure someone into a romantic relationship.
Just last week, singer Casey Donovan spoke on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! about her experience of being in a six-year relationship with a man, who turned out to be the invention of a woman named Olga.
“I think I’d known for a while that it wasn’t real,” she recounted tearfully. “Because I’m not stupid. I thought someone actually loved me for me, and it was hard to find out it was all a lie.”
Stolen images are an integral part of a catfisher’s arsenal, as they are used to populate social media accounts to make it seem as if the fictional person exists.
But Jessica’s story indicates that the game has stepped up a notch. Decent Photoshop skills, and these people can make it even more difficult to catch them out.
Welcome to dating in the 21st century.
Top Comments
Wait, who thinks those are decent photoshop skills? Her face looks ridiculous plonked on that other womans body! Crazy.
My cousin has people steal her photos and set up fake profiles pretending to be her all the time. It's so frustrating for her especially when Facebook won't remove the profile saying it "doesn't breach community standards"!
Actually they will remove it if the person can't provide ID. I had to prove my own ID to keep my own page. She needs to select the 'this person is pretending to be me' option.
I'm not sure what the point is with FBs "community standards". I've reported a few things over the years that seem just completely out of line, but none of it every "breaches community standards". I'd hate to live in FB's idea of what a community is.