An Armagh personal trainer and online coach who alleges he has, for years, been used as bait in a catfishing ploy that scammed a high volume of “local girls” has taken to social media to urge his followers to be “vigilant”.
Trainer, Lorcan Curran, took to his Instagram account to explain that what he initially thought was a “one-off scam” using his name and photos soon turned into around 15 fake accounts that were used to manipulate women into sending explicit videos.
And, while he says he cannot disclose too much information about the individual behind the scam, he believes it to be a “well-known videographer from Dungannon” based on evidence that he claims is now under investigation by the PSNI.
Detailing the story, Lorcan explained: “This is a story about how a well known videographer from Dungannon was able to catfish hundreds of girls into believing they were having intimate relations with myself.
“About a year ago I received a message off a girl asking if I was starting up my own podcast page. It wasn’t me, it was a fake account pretending to be me, making it look like I was starting up my own podcast.
“At first I thought it was a one-off scam but within a few weeks about thirty girls messaged me saying that they had been contacted by this page and that it seemed suspicious.”
Over the past year, he says, it hasn’t stopped. More accounts were made, all using his name and photos. The goal of these accounts, said Lorcan, is “always the same”.
He added: “They’ll start off by messaging girls something light-hearted like, ‘I’m starting up my own podcast, what should I talk about on it?’
“But once they get a response they quickly build up trust and push for private explicit video calls.
“What’s crazy is the sheer number of local girls that have ended up on these calls thinking that it’s me, only to realise that it’s someone impersonating me for their own pleasure.
“This isn’t just a one-off scam. It’s happened far too many times and it’s still continuing to happen.
“I know who is behind these fake accounts. I’ve got proof that I cannot get into for legal reasons because it’s an ongoing case within the police service of Northern Ireland.”
Lorcan explains that he has shared his video to “protect people from this predator” and to urge people to be “vigilant” if they come across a fake account, to report it and spread the news to help him get his message across.
In a redacted screenshot shared by the trainer, one person explains that she had been talking to the catfish for two weeks and was even meant to meet him.
Others said they had been on calls with him for “over an hour”.
Police confirmed they received a report on Sunday, November 24, 2024.
Additional detail was required in order to progress the complaint, which has not been received.
As such, the matter has been filed pending further evidence.
