A Louisiana mother has been left terrified after photos of her young son were used in a GoFundMe catfish scam that told donors he had died. 

Denika Sampson's world turned upside down on July 1 after nearly 100 people messaged her on social media to let her know that images of her son were being shared online by a woman identified as Stephanie Escobar. 

Escobar, whose now-deleted Facebook profile said she was from Atlantic City, New Jersey, was allegedly pretending to be the mother of Sampson's son. 

Sampson, of Moreauville, said the bizarre scheme started when Escobar shared pictures of herself being pregnant online. 

But once the baby was 'born', images of Sampson's son started to appear on Escobar's page, the startled mother said.

'She posted her pictures of her being pregnant and she had the baby. Once the baby was born, she started posting my child’s pictures,' Sampson, 43, told KLFY. 

What she saw was so unimaginable that Sampson didn't believe it was real at first. 

'I thought maybe it was a joke or something. This is someone pranking me because this can’t be real. What is the motive behind this,' she added. 

But then Escobar took to her Facebook page, telling people that she and the baby were allegedly in a car accident. 

'I got into a bad car wreck Monday after noon [sic] On my way! [sic] back to my hometown from atl I literally had 6 hours left until I made it until a driver hit me on the right side same side my baby was on,' Escobar posted. 

According to Escobar's post, Sampson's son was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for 22 hours before he died.  

Escobar then launched a GoFundMe fundraiser that claimed the child, illustrated with a photo of Sampson's very much alive son, had died. 

The page was soon taken down after several eagle-eyed online users reported the fundraiser as a possible scam, Sampson told the outlet. 

Social media accounts under Escobar's name have been deleted and she hasn't publicly posted since. It is unclear if the profile photo she uses is of a real person or was also faked. 

Meanwhile, Sampson has been left startled by how a complete stranger not only claimed her son as her own, but allegedly faked his death. 

'I'm afraid for his safety right now, because you just don't know the extent that people are going to try to kidnap your child,' she stressed. 'You know, she's gone this far, and no one knows what she's capable of.' 

She said she is also deciding whether or not to delete her social media accounts or stop posting her child because of this. 

'I also want to make other people aware of that. You know, we post our pictures of our children just as parents and we’re thinking we’re living our daily life, and there could be someone that’s watching you and wanting your child,' Sampson stated. 

Sampson's son is now a healthy toddler, she shared on Facebook.  

According to the outlet, the Moreauville Police Department is investigating the alleged scam. 

The Daily Mail contacted the agency and Sampson for comment. 

Sampson has gone on to post about her horrifying experience on Facebook, and shared on Monday that it all still feels surreal to her. 

'I’m still in shock that this lady really used my child’s pictures and portrayed that he was her child in real life. 

'People are really sick, I see these kind of things happening in other cities and on movies. It hits different when it happens to you. My child that I carried. A parent’s worse nightmare,' Sampson wrote.