An influencer who booked a $500 (£394) flight to visit her online lover was left heartbroken when he turned out to be a catfish who had also duped 400 other women.

Fashion blogger Urszula Makowska, 24, of New York, had fallen for 'Lucas' after matching with him on Tinder in November 2015 and sent him intimate photographs after chatting for a month.

She told how he regularly sent her photos and videos of himself on Snapchat and was also active on Instagram, and after four months of chatting online, Urszula decided to book a ticket to visit him in St. Louis, Missouri, to finally meet in person.

But two days before her trip, Lucas revealed he wasn't who he said he was and had been catfishing her and hundreds of other women as part of a 'social experiment'.

Urszula is sharing her story in light of new research by mobile phone insurer, Insurance2go, that found one in three people have or would be tempted to catfish, while a quarter have been victims.

Urszula Makowska, 24, of New York, had fallen for 'Lucas' after matching with him on Tinder in November 2015 and sent him intimate photographs after chatting for a month

Afterwards Urszula struggled to trust men and was terrified of dating again. She told FEMAIL: 'I was hurt, a big mess, and felt like I lost a big part of me.

'I wanted to focus on myself for a while and avoided being in any relationships with men.'

After her three-year relationship ended in 2015, Urszula said she felt like her whole world was 'crumbling'.

'I was hopeless and heartbroken,' she admitted. 'At the time a relative close to me had also recently passed away. I was very close to them and it wasn't easy for me - I don't deal with death well. I became extremely depressed.'

To take her mind off her heartbreak, Urszula signed up to Tinder and began dating.

The influencer booked a $500 (£394) flight to visit her online lover and was left heartbroken when he turned out to be a catfish who had also duped 400 other women

When she matched with Lucas she wasn't interested at first, but he persistently messaged her and they ended up becoming close.

'It was a tough time in my life, but he made me feel like he was there for me,' she explained.

'Eventually we took things offline and we were talking for months. We developed a relationship even though we never met one another in person.

'We were talking for hours daily. He had become a part of me, I trusted him and I'd go to him with everything. It seemed so real.

'I saw him as someone I wanted to be with and have a relationship with. I cared about him and started to develop feelings for him.'

When she matched with Lucas, Urszula wasn't interested at first, but he persistently messaged her and they ended up becoming close

Urszula didn't suspect for one minute that Lucas wasn't genuine, explaining that his social media sites seemed legitimate.

'He sent me photos and videos on Snapchat, showing him walking in New York during a snowstorm that we had while he was apparently visiting,' she said.

'There were also videos of him out enjoying the night life, and he used to send me selfies. There were absolutely no signs that he was not the person in the photos, it never even crossed my mind that I could be getting catfished.'

She admitted that her 'biggest mistake' was agreeing to send Lucas intimate photos and videos.

Lucas had received hundreds of intimate photos and videos from up to 400 other women - some of whom had even had intimate conversations over the phone with him

'I had feelings for him and I trusted him,' Urszula explained.

'I felt we had a strong connection. In these photos you could tell it was me because you could see my tattoo.'

When Lucas told her he was moving to New York for an internship, she decided to take the plunge and go and visit him in St. Louis, Missouri during Spring Break in March 2016.

She spent around $500 (£394) on a round trip and was about to book a hotel room when, days before her flight, Lucas confessed he wasn't the guy in the photos.

'I was in shock, I did not believe him,' Urszula said. 'I was very heartbroken, confused, and I was crying hysterically.

I was in shock, I did not believe him. I was very heartbroken, confused, and I was crying hysterically Urszula Makowska, 24,

'At the same time, I also took action immediately before he blocked me to screenshot some of his Instagram followers to direct message them with the information that they were being catfished by him.

'I asked for the guy's real Instagram and couldn't find the photos that he was using. I ended up screenshotting some of his followers and messaging the girls letting them know they were being catifshed. They were manipulated by him just like I was.'

Urszula discovered Lucas had received hundreds of intimate photos and videos from up to 400 other women - some of whom had even had intimate conversations over the phone with him.

'His explanation for catfishing us was that we were a social experiment,' she said.

'He really wanted to see what it was like to talk to attractive females on Tinder as an attractive male. There was 400 of us and I have no clue how he had the time to talk to all of us at once.

Urszula screenshotted some of Lucas' followers and messaged the girls letting them know they were being catifshed

'He even sent me a screenshot of a lot of names in his contact list that were labelled with the girls' names and emojis to classify them. It was really weird.'

Urszula appeared on the MTV Catfish show later that year in August, where she learned that Lucas kept a Google Drive file about them with notes for each girl.

She was also able to come face-to-face with him and confront him with two other girls that he catfished.

'I was lucky that I did not have to do this alone,' she admitted. 'Honestly, confronting him was hard. I was really disgusted.

Urszula appeared on the MTV Catfish show later that year in August, where she learned that Lucas kept a Google Drive file about them with notes for each girl

'I could not understand how someone could do this to so many females including myself. He had our intimate photos and videos saved onto his Google Drive.

'The worse part was, he was not sincere at all. He was very monotone and lacking in remorse for what he did. It was sick and he made us lose trust in online dating and towards men.'

Now Urszula is still scarred by the experience and is extremely careful with online dating, feeling she is putting herself at risk.

'My career and reputation could have been ruined by sending out those intimate pictures,' she said.

Urszula appeared on MTV's Catfish where she confronted Lucas with two other women - Jayme Nelson and Sarah Christjans - who were also his victims. Pictured with the show's hosts Max Joseph and Nev Schulman

'Now I only use a specific dating app where you have to approved. It is called the League App.

'I know other apps have taken actions against catfishing. You can verify your account by taking a selfie. But I would still advise other women to be careful when chatting to men online.

'Do your research on the men you talk to or intend to meet. You should look through their social media profiles, tagged photos and do a reverse image search.

'It also helps to look up the phone number that they're using to contact you. Finally, never send intimate photos or videos. You don't know this individual and you don't know what they will do with them.'

Almost one in three (29 per cent) Brits admitted to having a fictional persona online, otherwise known as catfishing, according to a recent study by mobile phone insurer Insurance2go, with 40 per cent of those using their fake profiles for more than two years.

A shocking 25 per cent of the 2,002 people polled admitted they have experienced some form of catfishing online; from starting a relationship with a person that pretended to be someone they weren't on the web (nine per cent), to sending money to someone who turned out not to be the person they claimed to be (eight per cent).