CATFISHED: Mayor of Mesa discovers his photo was used on popular dating site
MESA, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Mesa Mayor John Giles has been married for over three decades, and has five children and five grandchildren. Giles was surprised to learn, however, his photo was used on popular dating site match.com.
Someone in Canada reportedly created a profile the dating site, using Giles' photos and calling himself "Larry".
"The description was a divorced guy looking for something new and exciting," said Giles. "I'm trying not to be flattered by this. Frankly, I think we're all a little vain of the photos we put out. I would've used different photos. I would've submitted more flattering photos of myself."
One of the photos that was allegedly stolen was that of Giles with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). The woman who had been communicating with "Larry" recognized McCain, and became suspicious. The woman reportedly works in the IT industry, and did a reverse image search on the Internet. She then realize the man in the photos was not "Larry", who "lived" in Vancouver, but an Arizona mayor.
That woman immediately e-mailed Giles, revealing the catfishing scheme.
"We looked into it a little bit, and sure enough confirmed off of my mayor's Facebook page someone had lifted three or four photos," said Giles.
It is not known what ended up happening between "Larry" and the woman, but Giles said. He's glad she figured it out, and alerted him.
"I'm just the prop," said Giles. "I'm not really a victim in this situation, but this is a good reminder to people: you gotta be really careful on social media. You lose control of any content you put on social media."
Giles said his office has contacted match.com to let them know of the fraudulent use of his photos. Mesa Police are also looking into the situation, but at this point, it does not appear any crime has been committed.