Get ready for a mind-blowing tale.
Like many of us, Palm Beach County, Florida resident, Nicole Hayden had an attractive pursuer slide in her DMs. But she had no idea that her first encounter with the face of the man she thought she was talking to, would eventually end in a wild story you'll have to see to believe.
A man slid in Nicole's direct messages and introduced himself as Marcus, a marine engineer whose profile included a short biography reading: “I’m not for everyone but I’m OK with that.”
Hayden, who is a single mother of two, said the first messages he sent were casual, but within days, he quickly advanced his gestures. “All of a sudden, it was starting to become really heavy,” Nicole explained. “‘I love you, I want to marry you.’ I immediately knew something was wrong.”
Before she eventually blocked the account, Marcus even suggested traveling to Florida to meet her family for Thanksgiving.
Nicole also explained that before she blocked him, she had sent the man a photo of herself at the beach and that "Marcus" ended up altering that photo into one that made her look like she was nude.
This is when “Marcus” attempted to use the pic to blackmail her and demanded $6,500 or he would send the picture out to her family and friends. Nicole recalled, “They found me about a month later on my WhatsApp account and started threatening me," even making threats to find her kids.
Fortunately, Nicole didnt fall for the extortion ploy, never paying them a dime. And she never saw her photo pop up on social media.
But one day, the photograph of the man used by "Marcus" showed up again on her Instagram. It was the same photo as before but a new name this time. This profile said they were "Alex the Officer", or Alessandro Cinquini, who claimed to be a veteran officer with Carnival Cruise Line.
In the most plot twist twist that's ever been, the two started messaging, and eventually FaceTiming, where she discovered his person was the actual man behind the photo! The couple then began dating the real 27-year-old Alex who lives In Miami.
The couple have been dating since January and jointly decided to go public with their story in an effort to warn women.
Alex's photo is apparently being used by hundreds of imposters every day. “The main goal (for the imposters) is to make money,” Cinquini explained. “In this case, my picture is used to trick you, to create fake stories. You have to be careful.”
Cinquini said that he has received messages from women around the globe, anywhere from Peru to right here in our backyard of Palm Beach County, with many of the women telling him his imposters used names like, Alex, Thomas Riley, and we can't forget, good ole "Marcus".