The person sending messages from one of the numbers would alternatively refer to themselves as a man called Charlie — when contacting two gay men — or a woman, when contacting two straight men. To one of these straight men, the sender said their name was short for “Charlotte.” The sender’s profile picture showed a man and woman together, making both identities plausible.
‘Long time no speak! Still single?’
In the most extreme case POLITICO has seen, a Labour Party staff member was contacted by “Charlotte.” The sender insisted they had met at party conference, telling him: “Long time no speak! How’re you? Still single?”
“Charlotte” said they had discussed the man’s past work with a trade union, and claimed he had convinced her to also join a union. The man initially felt confident this interaction had not taken place, but later concluded it was plausible.
The conversation quickly became sexual after “Charlotte” sent several explicit images, to which the man reciprocated. He asked if she wanted to meet, and she replied she was busy playing netball. “If you’re lucky, I’ll slip you a picture of me in my gym shorts x,” she added.
When the man became suspicious about her identity, he tried several times to call her phone number, but she did not pick up. He then asked for her Instagram account, which she failed to provide.
Despite this, they carried on speaking and the recipient — by this point suspicious — invited “Charlotte” to meet at a pub. She agreed, but did not show up.