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The manipulative 'catfish' who pretended to be Lincoln Lewis to get women to fall in love with her repeatedly duped Optus into granting access to her victims accounts. 

Lydia Abdelmalek, 29, from Melbourne, spent four years using fake Facebook profiles featuring the Home and Away star to lure women into her web of lies.   

She conned two of her victims - whose names have been changed to Jess and Emma for anonymity - into romantic relationships, and both believed they were being courted by the famous actor, the ABC exclusively revealed.  

Both women eventually realised, and after constant abuse, Emma commit suicide.

Jess blocked Abdelmalek and repeatedly changed her number, but Abdelmalek would always find a way to contact her.

Optus have issued an apology for their involvement in the scheme, unwittingly providing Abdelmalek vital information about her victims, including their phone numbers and home addresses, after they blocked her.

Abdelmalek (pictured) was found guilty of stalking six people and is due to be sentenced in June

The telecommunications giant said simple human error was to blame, after Abdelmalek repeatedly used the Live Chat feature on the website to retrieve information.

She only had to provide answers to three basic security questions to access her victim's new mobile number.

She then sought access to her victim's online account, and - while posing as Jess - asked the chat service to send a temporary password to her boyfriend's account.

The Optus staffer agreed, and sent the new login details through to an email that was not linked to the account.

Abdelmalek gained access to the victim's new address and other personal details.

Jess told a court she changed her number about six or seven times, and each time Abdelmalek found her again.

At one point, the Live Chat failed to realise the wrong birthday had been provided .

 

 

 

Abdelmalek repeatedly used the Live Chat feature on the website to retrieve information

Police were able to track Abdelmalek's IP address to the numerous attempts via Live Chat to access Jess's information.

She told the court she was forced 'to take time off work' in her attempts to always 'stay one step ahead' of her stalker. 

In a statement, Optus said: 'This information was inadvertently shared due to a human error when the perpetrator undertook a'persistent program to fraudulently access the customer's information.' 

They went on to say they would no longer be allowing 'high risk transactions', including changes to email addresses, in its live chat function.

 

Abdelmalek repeatedly used the Live Chat feature on the website to retrieve information

Actor Lincoln Lewis has slammed the manipulative 'catfish' who pretended to be the Home and Away star to get woman to fall in love with her 

Lewis described Abdelmalek's entire elaborate ruse as 'sickening'. 

'Having your number, address, personal details illegally obtained & photos doctored was scary. Having them used to catfish people is sickening,' he wrote on Twitter.

'But nothing can give back or make right what this sick person did and took away from the victims. 

'For everyone, but especially for those with kids, know who you or they are talking to online. be absolutely sure of it! Social media can be great but also a scary place as there are sick twisted people out there. Be safe. 

'I also want to take this time to thank the incredible police & detectives who have worked tirelessly on this case over the last 8 years. You see the worst actions in people yet never give up. You are amazing. Thank you.'  

Abdelmalek was found guilty of stalking six people and is due to be sentenced in June, the ABC reported. 

She was able to deceive the women and manipulate them into becoming fearful for their lives.

Lydia Abdelmalek (pictured), 29, from Melbourne, spent four years of her life tricking women using fake Facebook profiles

She used profiles for Home and Away star Lincoln Lewis and Hollyoaks and Strictly Come Dancing heart-throb Danny Mac (pictured) to lure women into her web of lies 

Emma went to primary school with Lincoln Lewis - the son of rugby league legend Wally Lewis - who is best known for portraying Geoff Campbell on Home and Away.

Emma worked as a flight attendant on international flights, and in 2011 she received a friend request from a Facebook profile claiming to be Lincoln Lewis. She had previously dated a friend of his. 

The pair began chatting and soon developed a romantic relationship online. 

They arranged to meet each other but he would suddenly cancel, claiming he was busy at the last minute.

A mutual friend later revealed to Emma that the Facebook account was not real and the phone number she was given did not belong to Lewis. She called the real Lincoln Lewis, and asked him if they had been dating.

'No. What are you talking about?' the actor said in response.

Emma told him about how she had been deceived, but he decided to end communication with her and later revealed he 'went into kind of a panic mode'.   

Lewis deleted his Facebook profile and tweeted two warnings to his fans telling them he was being impersonated by someone else in September 2013.

The impostor told Emma their real name was Michael Jason Smith and that his friends had set up the fake Lincoln Lewis Facebook account as a joke. Despite the red flags, Emma maintained her relationship with Michael, saying she was in love with him (pictured)

After their discussion, Emma called the phone number she had been chatting to and demanded the person on the other end show their face.   

She later told police she believed the impersonator was using real video footage of Lewis and with a different voice over the top of it.

The impostor then told Emma their real name was Michael Jason Smith and that his friends had set up the fake Lincoln Lewis Facebook account as a joke. 

She told 'Michael' she had contacted the police and warned him not to talk to her again. 

Emma then received a random message from someone claiming to be her ex-boyfriend - but believed it was from Michael and questioned him about it.

He lied and denied sending the message, but they eventually began talking again. Michael soon began sending more photos to Emma - but they were actually of British actor Danny Mac. 

Emma told police she spoke to Michael every day and they began having a romantic relationship.  He then told her his name really was Mac, but he was using the 'Michael Smith' alias to avoid an ex-girlfriend who was stalking him.

Abdelmalek then bombarded Emma with anonymous threatening messages, and Michael convinced her he had also received them.

The catfish even made other fake Michael Smith accounts to throw Emma off the scent.

Despite the red flags, Emma maintained her relationship with Michael, saying she was in love with him.

Later, while she was working on a flight to Los Angeles, Emma received a message from someone saying her home in Queensland would be targeted by people with guns, prompting a police response. 

Another person called her telling her that if she hung up her intimate photos would be sent to her workplace.

Abdelmalek (pictured) was able to deceive the women - whose names have been changed to Jess and Emma for anonymity - and manipulate them into becoming fearful for their lives

Abdelmalek bombarded her victims with anonymous threatening messages (recreated messages pictured)

Emails containing photos of an underwear-clad Emma in sexually suggestive poses were sent to her family members - at the same time care packages and romantic gifts were also being sent to her anonymously.

The stress proved too much for Emma to deal with, and in 2017 she killed herself.

Another flight attendant, single mother Jess, was also targeted by Abdelmalek.

Jess met Lincoln Lewis on a flight in 2009, and they took a photo together. She then sent a message to the fake Lincoln Lewis Facebook account and he accepted.  

Similar to Emma's experience, Abdelmalek was able to convince Jess she was Lewis. 

With the help of the police, one of Abdelmalek's victims was able to convince her to deposit money into her account (recreated message pictured)

Police investigated Abdelmalek (pictured) and found multiple mobile phones with usernames, passwords, numbers and photos of her victims and the people she pretended to be

At one point, Jess mentioned she had bought her daughter a Bubble O'Bill ice cream and Abdelmalek responded with a photo of Lewis eating one as well.

The lie was caught out when Abdelmalek - pretending to be Lewis - said the soap star was in Sydney, but the real Lewis tweeted a photo of himself watching a State of Origin rugby league game in Brisbane.

Jess contacted the real Lewis, who told her she had been deceived. 

She began working with the Queensland Police to catch the scammer. Their phone calls were recorded, and she organised for the con-artist to send her money.

CCTV cameras caught Abdelmalek depositing the money into Jess' account at a Westpac bank.

Police investigated Abdelmalek and found multiple mobile phones with usernames, passwords, numbers and photos of her victims and the people she pretended to be. 

In court, a magistrate described the evidence against Abdelmalek as 'overwhelming'.

Her motives remain unknown, as the only material gain she obtained was a discounted flight for her brother. 

Jess and Emma never met but bonded over the phone having shared the experience of being deceived by Abdelmalek.

'This person has blood on her hands as far as I'm concerned. She took Emma from her family,' Jess said.