“I think someone is using your photos,” a follower wrote one day, attaching screenshots that stopped me dead in my tracks. There, on a Facebook account under the name “Shelby Reynold,” were my most precious memories—photos of me and my son that I had innocently shared with friends and family.
During my time as a single mom, I’d always been cautious about what I posted online, but like many parents, I loved documenting my son’s milestones and our journey together. Those images—his first steps, birthday celebrations, and other moments that captured the essence of our bond—represented our story.
I never imagined that our memories would be used to commit a crime.
The scammer had crafted an entire false identity around my life. Using my photos, “she” presented herself as a struggling single mother who had fallen on hard times and couldn’t afford basic necessities for her son. The parallels to my actual life were chilling—this person had studied my posts carefully enough to mirror my real circumstances, making their story believable to unsuspecting victims.
But the theft went beyond just stealing my images. This person claimed to possess psychic powers and offered readings to her followers in exchange for electronic payments. She was monetizing my child’s face, my motherhood, and our most intimate moments to fund her fraudulent business, making thousands of dollars a month.
The horror of seeing my son’s face used to manipulate vulnerable people was overwhelming. Every photo they had stolen represented a moment of pure joy in our lives, now corrupted and commodified for profit. The violation felt personal. It was personal, and I lost so much sleep over it.
My immediate response was to lock everything down. I frantically set posts involving my son to private or archived them entirely, effectively erasing years of documented memories from public view. The sadness was immense because these weren’t just photos; they were cherished memories and pivotal moments in my son’s development that I had proudly shared, thinking only loved ones would see. Now they felt tainted, dangerous.
Seeking justice was a whole other source of frustration. I contacted the FBI’s cybercrime department, hoping their resources could help. Rather, they explained that they couldn’t take on such a relatively minor case.
Fortunately, a family friend who works in law enforcement with a specialty in cybercrimes stepped in where federal authorities couldn’t. Through his expertise and determination, we were able to trace the IP address to a location in the Midwest. The investigation revealed the scammer’s digital footprint, and finally, we were able to shut down the operation. Who knows how long the scam would’ve continued without his help?
The experience fundamentally changed how I approach sharing my child’s life online. What had once felt like innocent memory-sharing now carries the weight of potential exploitation. Every photo I consider posting is filtered through the lens of “How could this be misused?” The spontaneous joy of capturing and sharing moments has been replaced by calculated caution.
Now, years later, as a content creator who works with clients of all sizes, I’m always quick to make sure they understand that my child’s face won’t be part of the deal. It’s a non-negotiable for me, and luckily, no brand has ever taken issue with it. This gives me so much hope for the future of parenting creators who choose to digitally protect their children while making a living on social media.
Sharing intimate family moments may still feel natural and even expected, but there’s a growing trend among parents to protect their children’s privacy. We have to keep in mind that predators come in all different forms, and once you post publicly, you have no control over where your photos end up. The internet never forgets, and neither can we. Our kids’ digital footprints are too precious to risk.
If you’re looking for a safer way to share family updates with your inner circle, Tinybeans has your back! The app is a totally private and secure space used by millions of parents looking to protect their kids’ digital footprints. It’s a digital baby journal, time capsule, and photo-sharing app all wrapped in one!
