Beware of people stealing your pics online

There's a new type of "kidnapping" that we need to be aware of and that is digital kidnapping.

The story starts when a Capetonian model by the name of Shamiel Hagee, couldn't understand why people kept approaching him as an acquaintance although he had no recollection of who they were.

It turns out that photos of the model were being used by someone named Warren Davids on his Facebook profile.

Luckily for him, he was able to get Facebook to remove the profile although Warren Davids has not been traced.

This is not where it ends.

Some users are stealing baby pictures on Instagram and pretending the child is theirs in the online game Baby Roleplay.

Child rights expert Joan van Niekerk said: "Parents should be careful what photos of their children they post to Facebook and who can see them."

I am often asked why I don't post pictures of Reign-Nirvana on my instagram and twitter and well, I guess this story is reason enough.

"Catfish" is the slang term for a person who posts pictures up on a social network which isn't actually them.

Have you ever been catfished? or have you ever had your pics stolen and used on someone else’s profile? Do you watch what pictures you post of your children?

Watch the trailer for this classic documentary on the subject.