Model CeCe Rose, 27, claims scammers are using her photos and videos to run romance cons on unsuspecting blokes so relentlessly she has two takedown teams
A model who claims to be the “most catfished woman on the internet” has revealed that up to 200 fake accounts using her identity are taken down every day. CeCe Rose, 27, from Toronto, Canada, says scammers steal her pictures and videos to lure unsuspecting men into fake online relationships – before asking them for cash.
The model, known as @cecerose to her 2M Instagram followers, says the problem has become so extreme that she employs two dedicated takedown teams and has a legal team involved.
CeCe says between 110 and 200 impersonator accounts are removed across social media every day – with some men believing they are in serious relationships with her for months.
She said: “It feels like every time I open any app, there’s another fake account using my face or body. It’s gone way beyond somebody just making a fake Instagram account.
“People are taking my photos, my videos and my name and using them to build completely fake relationships with people. I have two takedown teams dedicated specifically to this and we remove anywhere from 110 to 200 fake accounts per day across all the platforms.
“Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and messaging apps are the places I hear about most, but this isn’t a problem with one platform. It is everywhere.” After a few years, victims began approaching her, revealing they were out of pocket.
She said: “That was the part that shocked me the most. I had assumed the fake accounts just wanted attention, which seemed pretty harmless at first.
“Then men started contacting me and revealing their private conversations with ‘me’. They also told me about money they had sent or things they had been asked to do.
CeCe further revealed: “In more disturbing cases, people have described being pressured into sharing personal information or intimate pictures because they believed they were communicating privately with me. I’ve also heard from married men, and this is definitely a sensitive side of the issue.”
According to CeCe, some scammers create elaborate fake identities using years of her publicly available content. She said: “Some are very obviously fake but they can be incredibly sophisticated.
“They can use years of content that I’ve publicly posted and piece it together to create an entirely fake version of me. They’ll copy the way I look, what I post and sometimes even the way I speak or interact with people.
“That’s what makes it particularly convincing to somebody who isn’t following my real account.” Despite the threat of AI making impersonations more convincing, CeCe insists she isn’t frightened.
She said: “I’ve had men speak to me as though we already had a relationship and tell me things about conversations or promises that I obviously never had with them. You’re sitting there thinking, ‘I’m so sorry, but none of this happened.’
“I’ve heard stories where somebody genuinely believed they were in a serious relationship with ‘me’, including believing we were going to meet or have a future together one day. That’s one of the most disturbing parts because it shows how emotionally deep these scams can become.”
Some of the alleged relationships have lasted months, with CeCe warning that scammers don’t necessarily ask for money immediately. She shared: “I once had someone tell me I’m the fake CeCe because the scammer told him so.
“The men are so embarrassed when they find out the truth, but I always make it clear they shouldn’t feel ashamed. If somebody has spent months believing they’re building a genuine relationship, finding out the entire thing was fake can be devastating.”
CeCe says her teams now scan for accounts using her face, body and name every five minutes, including using facial recognition based on how she has looked over the past decade. She said: “The problem has gotten so bad.
“You can report one fake account, get it removed and then find another one within minutes. I’ve worked hard to build my own identity online, so having somebody use that identity for something completely different is really frustrating.
“When I see an Instagram DM saying, ‘Hey, I want my money back for that scam you did on me,’ it breaks my heart. I feel sad for them, but also this isn’t my fault.”
CeCe said: “I’ve gotten warnings that I’m impersonating myself from one of my backup accounts, yet a scammer doesn’t get the same warning even after reports. There needs to be more education for users too, because preventing the victim from trusting the scam in the first place is just as important as removing the account afterwards.”
She added: “If someone claiming to be me suddenly asks you to send money, buy gift cards, send cryptocurrency, pay a fee, invest somewhere or send financial information, stop immediately. If you’re getting a message anywhere other than my [adult content account], it’s fake.
“I do not have Telegram, Zangi, WhatsApp or ‘secret accounts’. Don’t send another dollar and don’t let somebody pressure you by saying you’ll lose the relationship if you don’t pay.
“Honestly, if you’re unsure, reach out and ask. It’s much better to feel a little embarrassed for five minutes than lose money or become even more emotionally invested in something that isn’t real.”
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