Conviction of Alexander McCartney the 'world's worst catfish'
Last month I wrote an article to raise awareness of 'catfishing', a form of online abuse where perpetrators skilfully target and coerce victims with the purpose of extortion. Just one month later, we see the sentencing of Alexander McCartney, the man being dubbed as 'the world's worst catfish'.
Alexander McCartney
From his childhood bedroom, 26-year-old McCartney posed on Snapchat as a young girl and targeted girls aged 10 to 16 who were gay or exploring their sexuality. Befriending them, McCartney used their vulnerability to coerce them into sharing intimate details and photographs, which he then used to blackmail them into taking part in online sex acts. Non-compliance resulted in him threatening to share the intimate details and photographs with their family members and publicly, as well as direct threats where he told victims he would arrange for people to rape them if they didn't comply.
McCartney also in some cases demanded that his victims involved their younger siblings in sex acts. Tragically, when this demand was made to his 12-year-old victim Cimarron Thomas she took her own life rather than comply. She was found dead, with a gunshot wound to her head, by her sister in the family home. In the wake of this tragedy, Cimarron's father Ben Thomas died by suicide just eighteen months later.
McCartney has been sentenced to serve a minimum of 20 years after admitting to a variety of 185 charges involving 70 children, although the actual number of victims is thought to be much higher. This included pleading guilty to manslaughter related to Cimarron's death. This conviction is thought to be the first case of proven manslaughter where the perpetrator and victim had never actually met.
Using his fake online presence, he actively targeted victims in over 31 countries and, despite several arrests between 2016 and 2019 he continued to offend despite bail conditions. In fact, his offending didn't cease until he was finally remanded in custody.
McCartney's final arrest followed a report to Police Scotland about a girl being blackmailed on Snapchat. Thousands of indecent images were found on his devices, indicating the prevalence of his crimes, and many of the victims have not been identified.
Key Steps To Protect From Catfishing
As I highlighted in my article, the abuse of catfishing is prevalent. The McCartney case serves to remind us all, professionals and parents to ensure we do everything we can to protect potential victims. We mustn't shy away from having conversations about online safety with young people, predators are out there so knowledge is power. With that in mind, I'll share again the key steps that can help protect you, your children, in fact anyone from catfishing:
- Manage your digital footprint- As described earlier, conduct an image search on your name. Then you can manage the information that's already published on the internet. You can request for posts, photos and videos to be removed by the originator or by the platform.
- Check your privacy settings- each platform has a guide to their privacy settings and how to set / change them.
- Un-tag yourself from photos and ignore tag requests.
- Be guarded and don’t share personal identifiable information in your profile (date of birth, location), posts, photographs or conversations.
- Avoid platforms that use end-to-end encryption.
- Don’t rush into relationships, move at your own pace. Recognise when your being asked to overshare with nothing shared in return.
- Be wary of a 'sob story'. A catfish will reel you in with tales of woe in order to financially exploit you. Never transfer money or give anyone your bank / credit card details.
And remember, if you think you are being catfished take a screenshot of the fake account, mute, hide or unfollow it, then report it. Do not block the account until you have made the report.
If you're being blackmailed do not pay. If under 18yrs report it to CEOP. Parents can also make a report to CEOP. If you are over 18yrs contact the police by calling 101 or in an emergency 999.
SSS Learning Safeguarding Director
