An internet predator that targeted Christchurch schoolboys in New Zealand invented attractive personas and then killed them off.

Police, who describe the scam as cruel, say the 28-year-old Auckland woman used several fake online profiles – depicting young and pretty women – to befriend unsuspecting high school boys.

Information provided to The Press since the New Zealand, Fairfax-owned newspaper exposed the scam last week shows that after creating an attractive new profile, the woman would sometimes kill the fictitious person, using some of her other personas to break the news on the girl's Facebook site.

Boys were referred to a tribute-type blog spot for the dead young woman where they could leave messages.

About 40 schoolboy victims of the female Facebook predator have now been identified and police are investigating possible grounds for charging the woman.