Influencer Ju Isen has revealed the shocking moment she found out her identity had been hijacked in a year-long catfishing scam that convinced a man he was in a relationship with her.
The 35 year old Brazilian model, who has 2.6 million Instagram followers, was contacted by a woman claiming her boyfriend had been having an emotional affair with someone pretending to be Ju.
“This person genuinely believed he was in a relationship with me for almost a year,” Ju said. “He had only ever messaged this fake profile on a dating app. They were using my face, my posts, my captions everything.”
The man’s real girlfriend discovered the deception and reached out directly to Ju, sharing screenshots of the fake account.
The impersonator had lifted not only Ju’s photos from her social media, but also copied her written content and video clips to imitate her tone and personality, making the entire act of deception feel disturbingly authentic.
“It was surreal,” Ju said. “I had never spoken to either of them, and yet my face was at the centre of this story. Someone basically built an entire character based on me and what’s even scarier is that people are believing it.”
Originally from São Paulo, Ju says this isn’t the first time she’s been impersonated. In another case, a man sent her letters and gifts for over a year, convinced they were in a relationship despite never having had any real contact with her.
“Unfortunately, this is more common than people realise. As influencers and models, our images are everywhere, and that makes us targets,” she explained. “People are out there creating fake profiles using my name and my pictures to manipulate others.”
She says these scams don’t just hurt the people who are tricked they affect her as well. “My identity is being twisted and used to deceive. It’s frustrating and unfair. There’s an emotional toll when your face becomes a tool for someone else’s lie.”
While Ju embraces the visibility that comes with her career, she’s calling for more awareness around the dark side of online fame.
Exposure brings great opportunities, but it also comes with risk. If we don’t speak up about this, the victims stay in the dark and those being impersonated remain unaware. Everyone loses.”
She hopes that by shedding light on her experience, others will be more cautious about who they interact with online and more understanding of how influencers can be affected by the actions of anonymous scammers.
