WHO'S THAT GIRL?

AUSSIE SERIAL CON WOMAN SAMANTHA AZZOPARDI'S WEB OF LIES HAD DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES ACROSS THREE CONTINENTS

- Kylie Walters

While a teenage Russian gymnast, a kidnapped Swedish princess, a model scout from New York City and an au pair living in Melbourne might not appear to have much in common, scratch below the surface and you’ll uncover a shocking secret. These are just a few of the more than 75 fake identities Samantha Azzopardi used to deceive hundreds of people from all over the world.

The web of lies she weaved over a decade is being explored in Channel 7’s new docu-series, Con Girl.

“This is a very modern tale of just what can happen in the social media age,” Andrew Farrell, the executive producer who dedicated years to examining Azzopardi’s life, tells WHO. “She was so convincing that Samantha was able to make a friend think her parents were Interpol agents, and the next thing she is flying off to the US on a big espionage adventure like out of some Hollywood movie.”

But in the most shocking twist of all, the motive of the serial Aussie fraudster remains a hotly debated mystery. Azzopardi never tried to physically harm her victims or steal money from them. She also never ran romance cons. But that doesn’t mean her actions didn’t come without a cost.