📑 Catching a Catfish
While questions remain about motive, it is clear Abdelmalek deployed a unique set of skills to infiltrate her victims’ lives. She uncovered the contact details of family members and repeatedly fooled Optus staff into revealing confidential information, even when a security pin was protecting the account.
James Oaten documents how Lydia Abdelmalek used the identity of Lincoln Lewis to invade the lives of two women, with one eventually committing suicide. Although many often talk about the part that Facebook plays in many of these cases (read posts by Alan Levine. Dean Shareski and Alec Couros), what was concerning about this case was the ease in which Abdelmalek was able to dupe Optus when the victims tried to escape the stalker. In a world of increasing optimisation, I imagine this will only get worse.