One woman who was reportedly deceived by her own female cousin that posed as a man online says catfishing needs to be made a criminal offense.
42-year-old Kirat Assi who hails from the western part of London says she works as a radio presenter and was reportedly tricked by her own female cousin for nearly a decade.
Kirat revealed how she spent one decade of her life communicating with an individual with a male profile but in reality, it was her own female cousin that was behind the fake identity.
The woman posed as a male named Dr. Bobby and tried to woo Kirat and so many others as the fake doctor network they belonged to had more than 50 other fake profiles. And it was being controlled by her own cousin named Simran Bhogal.
Kirat revealed how she spent her years in a fake romantic relationship, alongside the identity of a man named Bobby. Throughout this time, she assumed the man was living in Australia. The fake profile was based on images of a real individual that eventually led to her being signed off as ‘sick’ from work.
But the horrifying deception was reportedly uncovered when the British radio presenter opted to hire one private detective that uncovered the very strange and chilling reality.
Kirat raised more awareness on the issue of catfishing when she was featured in a renowned six-part podcast that was hosted by Alexi Mostrous. And that’s where she boldly stated how she wanted the act of catfishing to be taken more seriously, adding how it is a true crime and for that reason, needs to be considered as a criminal offense.
“When it’s going to be a crime, I strongly believe that it will deter people from taking part in it and make them think twice about playing with people’s lives,” she went on to mention.