A woman used the online life of a popular Kiwi blogger to set up a seven-year relationship with a man who lives in the United States.
But the "catfish" was not some foreign hacker - she was another woman, also based in Auckland, New Zealand.
"Catfishing" refers to the practice of pretending to be someone else online, usually as a ruse to start relationships with others. The term comes from the 2010 documentary of the same name.
MotivateMe Blogger Makaia Carr's entire online life, including her public Facebook posts, Instagram posts and Snapchats were screenshotted and shared with the American boxer.
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The catfish, who Stuff has decided not to name, did not use Carr's name but repurposed her photos and life experiences during her seven-year relationship with the man.
At times, the on-and-off relationship became flirtatious and sexual.
"Just to know that this woman was obsessed with my life so much that she was using every single incident, every action, to pretend it was her. I mean I'm not even anyone."
The catfish took screenshots of Carr's Snapchat "story" posts, including ones of her saying "good night" and another of her wearing just a towel. Screenshots of the conversations provided to Stuff show the woman initiating sexual texting after sending photos of Carr.
But in mid-2016 the catfish took it a step too far - sending a series of photos of Carr during a boxing match. This tipped the boxer off.
"I can relate to that experience, having your first fight, that's a big deal!" the boxer told Stuff.
"So I was really congratulatory, and I'm like 'send me the video,' and she's like 'oh nobody recorded it. That struck me a bit off so I looked up her gym."
The boxer found the gym's Facebook page, and was confused when he saw the same photos used to congratulate Carr. But it didn't really hit him until he found a YouTube clip of the fight.
People do that to experiment with who they are, to experiment with their gender and sexual identity.
"I was at a restaurant. Funnily enough I had just ordered catfish, hush puppies and mac and cheese. So I'm sitting there waiting for the catfish to come and I look it up on YouTube, and I hear them all cheering for her, all saying 'Makai Makai Makai.' They weren't saying the right name. That's when it hit me for sure."
"I think most people are going to say 'that's what you get for posting a lot online'. But you know this could happen to anyone."
He looked her up, finding a profile of a completely different Auckland woman using the same name.
He blocked the catfish and messaged Carr on Instagram but didn't receive anything back. In recent weeks a friend convinced him to send her screenshots and fully explain the situation.
"At first I was shocked, but that's pretty naive considering I've been plastering my life all over Facebook. As the information kept coming to me from this guy I started getting a bit worried. What has this person got on me?" Carr said.
"I was like 'oh my god wow'. He sent me more and more screenshots, editing out where they had talked about sex and stuff."
"Just to know that this woman was obsessed with my life so much that she was using every single incident, every action, to pretend it was her. I mean I'm not even anyone."
Carr was relieved when he confirmed no photos of her family had ever been included.
HOW IT ALL HAPPENED
The relationship began in 2010. The catfish used her real name and a few photos of someone the boxer thinks was Carr. It stayed off-and-on all the way through to mid 2016 when the boxer figured it out.
"We starting messing back and fourth, you know joking, then it becomes flirtatious, she starts sending me pictures. None of them were like super-seductive, but some of them were pictures of her like dressed up 'about to go out for dinner' or like with wet hair sitting in a spa," he said.
"She told me she got married in 2012 and we stopped talking. Then she came back later in the year and it was pretty much continous from then."
He's sure that the photos from around 2013 onwards were of Carr, but the earlier ones could have been from a different woman.
When he finally got through to Carr earlier this month he sent her the woman's phone number. She looked her up.
"At first I was like 'oh this b---- who would do this?' but then I realised she has kids, and she looks really sad."
"At the end of the day she did have an online sexual relationship with someone in America. She made me feel real real s---."
The boxer said the incident ruined his sense of trust in people. He now insists on video calling or ringing new business contacts.
"It just really made me second guess people. I mean I'm an honest person, my theory is that lies are only for the weak."
"Sometimes it's hard to come to grips with the fact that not everyone is going to be on the same page as you. But you don't want to go through life suspecting everyone of just being fraudulent or fake."
Carr was scared for her immediate safety when she found out.
Soon after Carr found her the catfish's Facebook account was deleted.
Carr contacted New Zealand online safety resource NetSafe and the police, but she said she was told they couldn't help her as her identity had not been used for financial gain. She decided to cut back on posting in real time about anywhere she was travelling to alone, as she feared for her safety.
She got in contact with the catfish through a friend. She eventually received an apology email.
"I know an apology is definately due, [sic]" the catfish wrote.
"It was only ever her pictures, which i know is completely wrong and a complete invasion of her privacy. I know this might sound ridiculous and most likely insincere but i feel ... sick ... about it ... at the time and now.
"Please just let her know its not happening anymore, i stopped back when i stopped talking to that person."
"I am soooooo very very ashamed and sorry. I know it doesnt excuse my behaviour and i have been in therapy since before december with severe depression and anxiety ... i am working very hard to get my s--- back together. Please please just let her know how sorry i am and it will never happen again."
When contacted by Stuff the catfish sent a similar message, acknowledging her actions were "unforgiveable".
"Please understand that I was not intentionally setting out to hurt people," she said. "It's only ever happened once and will never happen again."
The boxer and Carr believe the catfish has serious mental health issues.
"The fact that this person went to this level of actually not living, or impersonating someone else and pretending to live their life - that is crazy. That's a lot of time invested in making up stories," he said.
"She's robbed herself of her own life experience by pretending to be someone else.
"I think she was looking for acceptance, and the easiest way for her to gain that acceptance was to create an image."
WHY PEOPLE DO IT
NetSafe spokesman Sean Lyons said catfishing was quite common in New Zealand, but usually involved some kind of financial fraud.
"We do see it a lot. Romance based scams are unfortunately hugely frequent - people using relationships to manipulate others."
"The ones without the financial side are not as frequent. A lot of that is because when someone discovers that kind of deception they are often extremely ashamed."
He said those impersonating others for relationships were often in tough situations themselves.
"This is not just people poking fun, this is people who for one reason put a great deal of time into building an identity online in order to build a relationship with someone. They're not generally doing that to turn around say 'ha ha tricked you!'" Lyons said.
"People do that to experiment with who they are, to experiment with their gender and sexual identity. It's often very real for them. That's not to say that what they are doing isn't wrong."
A police spokesperson said the use of fake profiles was on the rise and that the offenders were often sophisticated, organised criminals.
"I think most people are going to say 'that's what you get for posting a lot online'. But you know this could happen to anyone - even someone just uploading their weekend photos for their family to see," Carr said.
She said people who wanted to maintain public social media profiles should be conscious about who else they included in their photos.
Carr knew all about catfishing before the incident, but believed the practice wasn't common in New Zealand.
"I was naive. Clearly it does."
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