Identity theft: her face was used for years to deceive strangers

In the United Kingdom, a young woman explains how her photos were reused on fake profiles to manipulate other people, damage her reputation and push online harassment into her real life.

For several years, Sasha-Jay Davies watched her identity slip away from her. Strangers were using her photos on fake accounts to talk to men, build false relationships and make it appear that she was behind messages and meetups she had never sent or agreed to.

The case became more alarming when these fake profiles began attracting large numbers of followers on social media. As their visibility grew, they sometimes seemed more credible than the victim’s own real accounts. According to the testimony relayed by BBC News Afrique, this deeply affected her daily life, her reputation and her sense of safety.

The case goes far beyond simple online imitation. The article also describes humiliating posts, manipulated content and the use of images of other women to strengthen the illusion. Another young woman interviewed in the same report said she also felt deeply violated after her own photos were repeatedly stolen and reused online.

Experts quoted in the article stress that catfishing is not always automatically treated as a criminal offence on its own, but that related behaviour can amount to harassment, fraud or other violations when real harm is caused. In this specific case, South Wales Police opened an investigation, while the platforms involved eventually removed the fake accounts.