A WOMAN has revealed how her photos were used to catfish men online.
Victoria Featherstone Pearce, 51, from the UK, first spotted a catfish account of herself thanks to a friend.
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The model and animal rights activist was shocked when she opened the link to a Twitter account using her snaps as a profile picture.
She revealed the picture was of her on holiday in Italy, where she got engaged, but the name and bio which stated she was looking for a serious relationship were not her.
Victoria was stunned when she realised people were using her images to catfish, and potentially scam others.
Although she had seen the MTV show Catfish, she thought it was made up for TV and yet it was now happening to her.
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At first, Victoria wanted to laugh the situation off and told Insider: "I'm 51 now and was in my mid-40s at the time.
"I'm no spring chicken, so it felt oddly complimentary that a catfisher was using my pictures."
But then the model began to get creeped out and grew concerned for the people catfishing and herself.
"What if they meet up with someone dangerous or make someone so enraged that they get bent on revenge?" She wondered.
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Despite the catfishers, Victoria couldn't change how she was posting online as she had to remain seen for her dog charity, K-9 Angels to attract volunteers and donors.
Instead, Victoria got the page taken down, but unfortunately was told another dating site profile had been made using her pictures.
The process if frustrating for the model to say the least, who now has to spend time and energy getting the profile taken down.
Although Victoria finds the entire situation creepy she wants to carry on posting online to ensure her charity and activism work gets the attention it deserves.
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