Rory Innes, founder of The Cyber Helpline charity, has highlighted an explosion in “catfishing” cases, which leave victims emotionally and financially devastated every year.
New laws outlawing fake dating app profiles are needed to stop sophisticated online predators, a leading cybercrime expert has warned.
Rory Innes, founder of The Cyber Helpline charity, has highlighted an explosion in “catfishing” cases, which leave victims emotionally and financially devastated every year.
He believes targeted Scottish legislation to combat exploitation is a must to keep people safe in an increasingly virtual world.
The Sunday Mail has highlighted the case of serial fraudster Ryan McVeigh who used a string of aliases as well as stolen photographs to carry out the sexual, financial and emotional abuse of 17 women – including raping two.
Rory wants social media platforms to be forced into greater accountability, and powers for police extended to tackle the growing crisis.
He said: “Pretending to be someone else online, even building a fake relationship, isn’t in itself a crime. It only becomes criminal when it crosses into things like fraud, harassment, stalking, malicious communications or sexual offences.
“The rise of dating apps, social media and AI tools have made impersonation incredibly easy.
“You can create multiple profiles, generate convincing images or even videos, and operate anonymously at virtually no cost. That lends itself to harm.
“Ultimately, we need legislative reform, platform accountability and properly resourced policing. Otherwise, this problem will continue to escalate.
“The impact is massive and not just financially. It’s mental health, fear, loss of confidence, reputational damage.
“Imagine discovering that someone you thought you were in a relationship with never existed. That’s devastating.
“This is a crisis that’s growing. If we don’t adapt our laws and systems, more people’s lives will be devastated.”
Last month we told how Tinder rapist McVeigh, who had already conned and abused seven women when he appeared in court, had gone on to target 10 more victims after being freed from prison to await trial.
McVeigh finally pled guilty to a litany of charges in November, including defrauding his victims out of £81,872, but a Sunday Mail investigation revealed that officials missed the chance to stop the sick 32-year-old in 2023 when he was remanded in custody at court – only to be set free days later.
We also revealed how Gary Stephenson, a 40-year-old dad from Yorkshire, was horrified to discover McVeigh, using his identity, was facing charges of fraud and rape after being contacted by one of the women online.
Rory, 43, said: “That’s a perfect example of how these cases escalate. The impersonation may not be illegal in itself, but it’s often the foundation for very serious crimes.
“With generative AI we’re at a point where people can convincingly fabricate images, videos and even real-time interactions. Victims often blame themselves but they’re not foolish.
“These perpetrators are often highly manipulative and technically skilled. It’s about timing, vulnerability, and the sophistication of the deception.”
McVeigh picked the women via dating apps, such as Tinder and Bumble, using a string of fake names. But Rory said anonymity allows room for abuse.
He said: “Often platforms do not know who their users really are, or not in a way that helps victims.
In many cases, platforms don’t robustly verify identity. So if someone commits a crime on a platform, tracing them can be complex, slow and sometimes impossible.
“That lack of accountability creates opportunity for abuse.
“On mainstream social media and dating platforms, total anonymity allows people to impersonate others with zero consequence.
“To drive a car, you need a licence. You’re effectively anonymous to the public – but the police can identify you through your number plate.
Online platforms could operate similarly. Your username could function like a licence plate – anonymous publicly, but traceable in cases of harm. That would fundamentally change things.”
In another shocking case, serial catfisher Adele Rennie, while employed as a nurse, impersonated a doctor named David Graham.
It is believed up to 100 women were targeted by Rennie, 35, of Kilmarnock. Rennie was arrested in 2015 and admitted 18 charges involving 10 victims. She was sentenced to 22 months in jail and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
But following her release, she began pretending to be a lawyer and in 2019, she was jailed for another three years.
In 2024, she was once again apprehended, this time facing charges of stalking, deception, and sexual coercion, leading to her third stint in prison.
She was released in January 2025 after serving half of her sentence, only to be arrested again just 10 days later.
Rory said: “We don’t currently have effective mechanisms to restrict online access in a meaningful, enforceable way. And in some cases, there are deeper psychological issues driving the behaviour — something prison alone doesn’t address.”
In 2024-25, an estimated 14,120 cybercrimes were recorded by Police Scotland – equating to at least five per cent of all crimes recorded.
Rory added: “It shows we haven’t invested enough in understanding or policing online harm. Cybercrime now makes up the majority of crime in the UK, yet only a tiny proportion of policing resources are allocated to it.”
Rory set up the charity in 2018 with a clear mission: to fill the alarming gap in support for victims of cybercrime and online harm. Since then, The Cyber Helpline has supported over two million users.
Rory said: “I worked in cybersecurity for businesses and realised that individuals had nowhere to go. The national cyber strategy barely mentioned support for individuals. So we mobilised cybersecurity professionals to volunteer their expertise and help ordinary people recover. We help people understand what’s happened, secure their accounts, gather evidence, and present cases properly to banks or authorities. We don’t recover money ourselves, but we significantly increase people’s chances of doing so.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “A range of criminal offences can be used to prosecute those who use fake dating profiles to harass, abuse, defraud or groom others.
“While online safety is reserved to the UK Government, we engage consistently and robustly with UK ministers to strengthen online protections. We also work with Police Scotland and Ofcom.”
Lawyer: Answer is better policing
The lawyer behind Netflix’s hit show Sweet Bobby has called for better resources for police and courts to tackle catfishing crimes.
Yair Cohen, of London law firm Cohen Davis, successfully represented victim Kirat Assi when she raised civil proceedings after a harrowing nine-year catfishing scam, which police refused to investigate.
London DJ Kirat believed she was in a relationship with a man called Bobby Jandu, but it was a cruel hoax by her cousin Simran Bhogal.
Cohen told the Sunday Mail: “The devastation caused by catfishing is profound. That said I don’t believe we need new legislation to make catfishing a specific crime.
“We already have robust tools like the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the Fraud Act 2006, and the Malicious Communications Act 1988, all of which can and do tackle it effectively when applied properly.
“The real barrier lies in criminal prosecution service and police priorities. These crimes are often more challenging and require more intellectual and financial resources to investigate than a complaint about an offensive tweet, so police choose to not invest.
“New laws will create more restrictions of free speech whilst not addressing the real issue of lack of enforcement and willingness to investigate.”
