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A teenager subjected to a four-year 'catfishing' campaign after her identity was stolen by another teenage girl in her town has won a £10,000 payout.
Sasha Davies was targeted as a 16-year-old by 'complete stranger' Elha-Mai Weston, who used her social media pictures and AI-generated content to create a string of fake online profiles.
Ms Weston, who also lived in Glamorgan, Wales, targeted men across Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook and Tinder - where the profiles built up a following of more than 100,000.
Ms Davies, now 19, only became aware of the catfishing when men started to approach her on the street.
The male strangers called her 'Sophie', the name of the fake persona, and claimed to be in a romantic relationship with her.
Despite contacting police, the nightmare continued for nearly four years across seven different platforms. It only ceased after Ms Davies hired lawyers to track the fraudster down.
The teenage victim successfully sued Ms Weston at a High Court in London, which concluded this week.
Ms Davies won a £10,000 payout after the identity thief admitted her guilt through lawyers and subsequently apologised before a judge.
Sasha Davies was targeted as a 16-year-old by 'complete stranger' Elha-Mai Weston, who used her social media pictures and AI-generated content to create a string of fake online profiles
Speaking afterwards, Ms Davies said: 'For four years someone else was living a life as me, talking to men as me, while strangers approached me in the street believing they knew me.
'I reported it over and over and was made to feel nothing could be done. I stopped feeling safe leaving the house.
'Hearing her admit in court that it was her, and apologise, means I can finally start getting my life back. I want other girls going through this to know it is not hopeless, the person doing it can be found.'
In a settlement statement given in court with the agreement of Ms Weston, the victim's barrister Chris Zabilowicz described her ordeal beginning at 16 and continuing until earlier this year.
'Ms Weston engaged in a sustained campaign of online impersonation, commonly known as catfishing, of Ms Davies,' he told Mr Justice Fordham.
'Ms Weston created and operated numerous accounts under the fictitious identity 'Sophie' and variants thereof, including "Sophie Kadare".
'Those accounts collectively accumulated more than 100,000 followers and used photographs - and, in due course, AI-generated imagery - of Ms Davies without her knowledge or consent.
'Through those accounts, Ms Weston communicated with a large number of individuals, including by way of personal and romantic conversations.
Ms Davies won a £10,000 compensation payout this week at a High Court in London after being subjected to a four-year 'catfishing' campaign
'As a consequence, Ms Davies has been approached on a number of occasions by members of the public who had interacted with the "Sophie" persona and believed they had a genuine connection with her.
'On one occasion, a man showed Ms Davies messages he had exchanged with one of the fake accounts over a period of months, having believed throughout that he was in a romantic relationship with Ms Davies.'
The majority of accounts were deleted after Ms Davies appeared on BBC's This Morning on Tuesday.
The victim's lawyers, Cohen Davis Solicitors, tracked down Ms Weston using open-source intelligence, connecting the fake persona's network of accounts to her real identity.
Once the identify thief was found, High Court proceedings were launched. The case concluded this week with Ms Davies's agreement to settle.
Mr Zabilowicz said Ms Weston had accepted 'that her conduct was wrongful,' continuing: 'She further acknowledges the very significant distress and suffering it has caused Ms Davies.
'Ms Weston deeply regrets her actions and apologises to Ms Davies wholeheartedly and unreservedly for everything she has been put through.'
As part of the settlement, Ms Weston - who did not attend court for the hearing - agreed to pay Sasha £10,000 compensation and agreed to never contact her, delete all materials and not to repeat her actions again.
Any breach of the order could result in her being hauled back before a judge for contempt of court, with the risk of a jail sentence if found in contempt.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Davies's solicitor Yair Cohen said: 'For four years, Sasha did everything right. She reported it to the platforms and to the police, and she was failed, because the person behind the accounts was anonymous and everyone treated anonymity as the end of the road.
'It is not. We identified her using open-source intelligence, from the traces her own accounts left behind. Once a catfish loses their anonymity, the campaign collapses.
'Catfishing is one of the most misunderstood forms of online abuse. People imagine a distant stranger, but in case after case we have handled, including this one, the person behind the accounts was somebody within the victim’s own world.
'There is no offence called catfishing on the statute book, but the conduct around it - harassment, misuse of private information, breach of data protection law - is unlawful, and the civil courts can deliver identification, compensation and enforceable protection.
'This matter is also not over. Now that we have the evidence and an acknowledgement of wrongdoing in open court, we will be asking the police to investigate.'