'Dating scammers stole my identity for fake profiles on Grindr, Instagram and Facebook'
My phone lights up. I am on holiday with my mum, enjoying a cocktail in a gay bar in central Barcelona. Imagine my sheer panic when I see an Instagram account has been created, seeming to use my name and my pictures, offering exclusive, paid-for, adult-only content.
This new variant of 'catfishing' sees fake Instagram profiles being created using real people's pictures in a desperate, but somewhat convincing attempt to seem genuine. In my instance they followed many of my contacts and close friends. Often, as appeared to be the case in my experience, the user then makes accounts on fan only sites with the intention of scamming people out of money.
Then came another message from another friend of mine that stopped me in my tracks. "Is this you?" they asked, followed by a screenshot of a profile on dating app Grindr. But actually, it wasn't really flattering at all. It was a complete invasion. Using my pictures, pretending to be me and catfishing other poor souls out there who had probably fallen for the empty promises of dates or hookups. It has happened so much now that I feel somewhat immune to it. I just tell people to report it and try to forget about it altogether, and I will continue to do so.
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