YouTube star Sarah Ashcroft reveals so many fake Tinder profiles use her face she’s constantly accused of CATFISHING on the dating app
Will the real Sarah Ashcroft please stand up?
YOUTUBE sensation Sarah Ashcroft has spoken about her struggle to connect with men on dating apps - as she is constantly accused of being a catfish.
The stunning fashion vlogger explained that she gets regular messages from friends who spot fake Tinder profiles of people using her pictures, and as a result was accused of being a fraud when she set up her own account.
The 22-year-old YouTuber was so put off that she decided to ditch the dating app altogether.
Sarah, who has more than 700,000 followers on her Instagram account, said: “My friends have tried to put me on Tinder but I’ve got God knows how many fake tinder profiles with girls using my face.
“It’s very weird because obviously there could be a guy out there who’s in love with me but not in love with me if that makes sense.”
The vlogger's pictures have even gone international - with reports of a Tinder account in France proudly displaying Sarah’s snaps.
Sarah said: “As long as it’s not directly affecting me then there’s not much we can do about it.
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“That’s the problem, when you put yourself on social media you’re sharing so many images and you don’t really own the rights to them.
“As soon as they go on Instagram they’re not your photos so there’s not much you can do. It just comes with the job really.”
These days Sarah invests all her time in vlogging, earning enough from her social media accounts to work on her brand on a full time basis.
What is catfishing?
- ‘Catfishing’ is when someone creates fake profiles on social media sites to trick people into thinking they are somebody else.
- They make up life stories and use photographs of unsuspecting victims to create fake identities.
- Catfishers add life experiences, jobs, friends and photographs to the fake accounts.
She said: “It’s mad how it’s been able to turn into such a career and a lifestyle really.”
But it wasn’t always the high life for Sarah - who set up her account in September 2013 as a way of getting her foot in the door of fashion PR.
She said: “When I first started out my mum would take a lot of my pictures.
“But by February 2014 I was doing it full time and I was making enough money to kind of live off so it happened really fast. My following grew overnight.
“I was quite savvy with it, I was quite savvy with the brands I worked with.”
Sarah’s has since branched out and today launches her exclusive clothes line with fashion brand .
Her designs are already a hit with the reality stars with Towie’s Billie Faiers and Geordie lass Charlotte Crosby both stepping out sporting her pieces from her collection.
Sarah said: “I wanted everything to be perfect and I needed it to be the best quality because I was putting my name against it. Fashion is my job so it had to be perfect.
“The most exciting thing has been the reaction from my followers because you just don’t know how it’s going to go down.”
Sarah’s avid fan base also lap up her beauty tips, with “what foundation do you use?” ranking top of the questions she is most frequently asked by followers.
But the is always keen to oblige her fans, making sure to connect with followers wherever possible.
She said: “At the end of the day I’m a vlogger I’m not a celebrity and without my followers I wouldn’t have a job or a blog or anything.
“The reason I am who I am is because I’m a fashion inspiration so there’s no point someone asking me where my top’s from and me not replying to them, because that’s what I’m there for basically.”
Fancy replicating Sarah’s success? The YouTube star recommends finding a way to stand out.
She said: “There are so many girls who are starting up Instagram accounts or vlogs but everyone is trying so hard to be someone that they follow or someone that already exists.
“I feel like to make it these days, because it’s so saturated, you really have to find that thing that makes you stand out.
“The best way to do that is to be yourself because no one's you.”