A mother in Moreauville, Louisiana, has been left distraught after discovering that photographs of her young son had been used in an alleged GoFundMe "catfish" scam that falsely told donors the child had died. Denika Sampson learned of the deception on 1 July when almost 100 people contacted her on social media to say her son's images were being shared online by a woman calling herself Stephanie Escobar. The case highlights how easily personal photographs can be stolen and exploited to solicit money from sympathetic strangers.

According to Sampson, Escobar — whose now-deleted Facebook profile said she was from Atlantic City, New Jersey — first posted pictures of herself apparently pregnant, then began using images of Sampson's son once her supposed baby was "born", pretending to be his mother. Sampson said she initially assumed it was a prank or joke, struggling to believe it was real and questioning what the motive could be. The report indicates the images were being used to appeal for donations under the false claim that the boy had passed away.