Friend catfishing neighbour on Insta - tell him?

[TwinklyBlueEagle]

My friend made a fake account for laughs on Instagram last year using photos of a model from Brazil and she has started using the account to catfish one of our neighbours because she thinks it’s funny. She has made it look very genuine and if I didn’t know it was fake I’d think it was a real account.

I personally think it’s really naughty to deceive someone I know into forming a relationship with a fake woman. I jokily told her she should stop but she didn’t think I meant it. The whole thing doesn’t sit right with me though but if I tell him she’ll think I’m a right backstabber.

Cyber safety courses are compulsory in school and sixth form here. They were part of the registration process to attend uni for our DC. One of the compulsory courses at all the work places I’m familiar with.

Nothing back from op so far then.

@TwinklyBlueEagle
So are you going to tell him? Sack this "friendship" off.
She's immature and cruel.

I know a 14-year-old boy who killed himself after vermin like your friend catfished him.

Report her to the police if you have any decency.

@Summertimer We didn't have the internet when I left school. Perhaps we can assume the OP's neighbour is above sixth form age?

And doesn’t have a job. We can make all sorts of assumptions. I made one way back and some of you used that to make other assumptions

@Summertimer I have a job, never been asked to do a cyber safety course. DH works in IT, he's never done one either (well not one that covers catfishing). Thousands of jobs don't involve computers or use of the internet at all.

This is the sort of thing my 11 year old daughters bitchy friend does

It's not funny at all.

I couldn't be friends with a horrible bully.

Why are you friends with this weirdo?
Are you very young op?

Thanks, praps now some of you can see I definitely wasn’t

Threat and persecution?
You appear to have a massive victim complex.

I've never even heard of such courses, let alone taken one. Your assumption that most people on MN have taken them is not at all reasonable.
Some people are simply naive and even taking such a course would likely not help much.

This is fantasy land - MN where we care about our kids using social media but aren’t cautious ourselves and don’t believe stuff exists that most people do

Laughing at your interpretation

@Summertimer But the victim in this case is unlikely to be on Mumsnet, even if we had all taken some sort of mythical compulsory cyber security course!

It's a neighbour who I would assume has been targeted by the OP's cunty mate specifically because they might be naive / vulnerable / lonely / liable to fall for it.

Also the OP you thanked below for the link has reinforced your victim blaming if anything, not absolved it.

That's simply your experience in your particular area. That is not most people's experience.

In fact, many people on the internet came of age before the internet was even a thing or when it was relatively new, so of course they have not taken any such course. 45% of internet users are 35-65 years of age.

OK guys, enough now, enjoy your parallel universe

🤣

A nonsensical, meaningless reply which does not address the point, which is to be expected. You continue to deny, deflect, evade, and dodge.

IKR. Some people just have bats firmly lodged in the belfry.🤷

You were victim blaming 100% and I'd respect you a lot more if you owned it. And btw, never done a cyber security course in my life.

Aye, I work online and have for well over a decade. No cyber safety courses here, I wouldn't even know where to look for one.

Lol never in a million years