Manipulative 'catfish' who pretended to be a famous soap star to get women to ...

Catfish who pretended she was Home and Away star Lincoln Lewis to get women to fall in love with her loses bid to keep her family out of the public eye Lydia Abdelmalek spent four years using fake Facebook profiles of celebrities  She was found guilty of stalking six people, including two air hostesses  Abdelmalek pretended to be actors Lincoln Lewis and Danny Mac online She convinced her victims to fall in love with her and send her intimate photos  She convinced the women to stay with her even when they caught her out  Abdelmalek used information from her victims to manipulate and threaten them

By Australian Associated Press

Published: 11:41 BST, 21 May 2019 | Updated: 11:42 BST, 21 May 2019

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A woman who posed as an Aussie soap opera heart-throb to prey on young women has failed in a court bid to keep her family out of the public eye.

Melbourne's Lydia Abdelmalek, 29, was found guilty of six counts of stalking after assuming various aliases, including Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis.

Her lawyer John Yianoulatos made an unsuccessful bid for a suppression order to be placed over her church, her job and siblings' employers during a special mention hearing at Heidelberg Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

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

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

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 

'There were threats made to my client's safety...but her family has not received threats,' Mr Yianoulatos told the court, before the application was dismissed.

However, magistrate Stephen Ballek placed a suppression order on the names of victims and their families to 'avoid causing undue distress and embarrassment'.

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