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A single mother remembers the heartbreaking moment she discovered her identity was being exploited in a shocking catfishing scam – and her nightmare isn’t over.
Australian model Kate Heussler felt shocked and deeply violated after learning that images of her that had not been online for years were being used by an unknown catfisher in the United States.
To the Sydney businesswoman’s horror, her five-year-old daughter was also caught up in the web of lies.
Miss Australia 2014 has spoken out about the ongoing ordeal in hopes the fisherman will stop exploiting her identity and authorities will take action.
Heussler hopes sharing her story will serve as a stark warning that no one is safe from online dangers and that catfishing can happen to anyone, not just those with a public profile.
Kate Heussler was shocked to discover her identity had been exploited by an overseas catfisher
The Sydney-based model coach realized this after receiving this email from Jeffrey
“It all started two weeks ago and it only got worse from there,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
The saga began last month when an American named “Jeffrey” emailed Ms Heussler to say he was falling prey to an “obvious scammer” who was using his photos.
He admitted to sending money to the ‘scammer’ before he suspected he was being defrauded and alerted Ms. Heussler through her company’s website.
“Your image may have been compromised,” “Jeffrey” said in message seen by Daily Mail Australia.
“I was corresponding with an obvious scammer who would send me photos and inevitably ask me for money. This person talked about your family and when I saw that there were photos of your daughter, I no longer found it amusing.
Ms. Heussler was initially skeptical of “Jeffrey” because she often receives unusual messages online.
“I get a lot of random queries through my website and I’m a branding expert, so I take these questions very seriously,” she said.
“I was horrified to learn everything he knew about me, including my divorce. It made me feel very vulnerable.
“I felt that my professional reputation, which I had spent years building, was at stake and that someone was trying to take it away from me.”
Many of the photos sent to Jeffrey were photos of Kate from five years ago that are no longer online, including this selfie shared in Instagram Stories.
Kate was also horrified to learn that her five-year-old daughter (pictured as a baby) was also involved in the catfishing saga.
“Jeffrey” believed he was romantically involved with Ms. Heussler, although he had never met her.
He provided Ms Heussler with screenshots of the catfisher’s desperate messages after he became suspicious, as well as voicemails from a woman with a German-sounding accent.
‘Jeff. Do you agree? Where are you? Are you at home?’ reads a series of text messages seen by Daily Mail Australia.
The messages became more frantic the next morning with no response.
‘I’m worried. Why don’t you want to talk to me? »wrote the catfisherman.
She turned on “Jeffrey” when he asked for a video selfie.
“You doubted me,” she wrote.
Jeffrey replied: “From day one. »
He received photos of Ms. Heussler that were not on his social media, including Instagram Stories from 2018 that had only been online for 24 hours.
Alarmingly, the impersonator also had intimate knowledge of Ms. Heussler’s family and their divorce.
Ms. Heussler suspects that the catfisher had been stalking her for years.
Jeffrey sent Ms Heussler screenshots of messages after falling for ‘obvious scammer’
Ms Heussler was also horrified to learn that “Jeffrey” knew personal details about her, including a devastating divorce.
That’s when she realized the situation had escalated into a much more serious situation.
“I reported it to the police, who told me there was nothing they could do because it happened off the coast,” she said.
“It made me feel deflated. It seems that impostors and scammers have more rights than victims.
To make matters worse, she now claims the man who alerted her to the catfishing activity, “Jeffrey,” has started harassing her online.
She and her team were forced to block “Jeffery” from contacting them after receiving 54 emails from him in a fortnight.
He also allegedly tried to book an online coaching session with her and left a lewd comment on her Facebook account about “single mothers” using a fake profile..
“I thought (at first) he was very brave to find me and come forward. He was very caring and concerned,” she said.
“We have since had to block him on TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.”
Following her ordeal, she heard from ordinary Australians whose identities had also been exploited by the catfishers.
“You don’t have to be rich and famous to be exploited. Many are really just people,” she said.
“It made me think about how many other men this person could have scammed by pretending to be me.”
Following her ordeal, Ms Heussler heard from ordinary Australians whose identities had also been exploited by the catfishers.
Many photos of Ms. Heussler sent to “Jeffrey” had not been available online for four or five years, including this image
She has since reported the scammer to the ACCC, Crime Stoppers and US authorities.
Ms. Heussler is only speaking out now because she wants the catfisher to stop using her image to extract money from people..
“I hope this deters this person from scamming other victims in the future,” she said.
Ms Heussler hopes other Australians will learn from her ordeal by becoming more careful in their online engagements and being wary of potential threats lurking on the dark web.
“Catfishing can happen to anyone. In today’s interconnected world, vigilance and caution are paramount,” she said.
“Be mindful and think twice about what you share online.”
“Although I have no regrets about my past as a model and pageant, I am now very particular about what I put online.”
Ms. Heussler opens up about her ordeal in hopes of shutting down the catfisher