A Miss Ireland hopeful has told of her horror over being bullied online by scammers who hacked into her social media – saying she is considering going to gardai.
Miss Dublin Central’s Jasmine Gerhardt came first runner up in the Miss Ireland final at the weekend, which saw Clare native Dr Ivanna McMahon crowned this year’s winner.
But the next day after the competition, Jasmine’s world was turned upside down when she discovered her social media accounts had all been hacked into and an OnlyFans page had been set up using her images.
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Speaking exclusively to us, Jasmine told us: “After Miss Ireland, I was getting a lot of emails and mails and contracts that people were offering me. I got nearly a thousand new followers just from that night.
“Then the next day I went on Instagram and my account had been deactivated.
“Someone had reported my account numerous times, then hacked into it and deleted it.”
Jasmine - who has just completed her masters in European Law and Human Rights - said she was left devastated when she discovered her social media accounts – except her Facebook – had all been deactivated.
“I just checked my phone, and it said my Instagram had been deactivated. And that was it.
“Obviously that is my source of work. That is how I get modelling jobs, it’s how I communicate with people, it is how I get brand deals but whoever is doing this obviously as well there has been loads of things written about me online.
“They deleted my Snapchat as well. I don’t have that anymore, it’s gone.”
The Blanchardstown beauty said she’s being severely bullied online, including hackers setting up an Only Fans page pretending to be her, as well as setting up a Twitter page about her posting nasty comments about her.
“There have been loads of awful things being written about me online. Awful things on a website. Someone set up an Only Fans account using their images and my face. They’ve been contacting my friends as well.
“I just don’t know how someone can go out of their way to try and destroy a young girl's life.
“It’s online bullying at its finest. It’s really upsetting,” she said.
The 24-year-old said she feels like she might know the hacker because of the nature of some of the hurtful comments written online about her.
“I feel like it is someone close to me because of the comments made about me online.
“It is awful stuff. I already felt absolutely gutted from the competition, but this is just the last straw. I can’t believe someone is out to do this.”
Jasmine has been in touch with Instagram, but they have yet to resolve the matter.
She is now considering going to gardai over online bullying.
“I think to be honest I will do something soon because someone text my mam yesterday as well to her phone being like ‘Hi mam, it’s Jasmine, my phone just crashed, could you contact me?’
“It just seems coincidental that obviously after the Miss Ireland final I was getting work and jobs and messages that someone has done this to my account.
“I am gutted beyond words because obviously as well some of the things I post, I write that are sentimental to me as well like to see what I’ve done over my Miss Ireland journey. They’re all gone. All the fundraisers, they’re gone. They stopped all of it.”
Jasmine added: “I don’t get people who can be so vindictive towards people who are just trying to make a name for themselves in the industry and work. Like I worked so hard for those followers over the last eight or nine years and for it to be just thrown out and essentially my livelihood gone, my modelling and my social media account.
“I had been paid to post and advertise brands – now I don’t even have that option.”
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