An Australian man has discovered he's become a stock photo model without his knowledge or consent.
Queenslander William Stopford was alerted to the bizarre situation by two friends who spotted him in two separate promotional images.
An advert features him superimposed into a swanky hotel lobby, and a promotional campaign shows him inserted into an artist's impression of a train.
In both of the materials Mr Stopford is sitting with his legs crossed, speaking on his cellphone. He has no recollection of when the photo was taken.
The 27-year-old does not recall giving his permission to be photographed, and he certainly didn't sign up to become a stock photo model.
Mr Stopford told Yahoo News a friend saw the hotel lobby advert while looking for a place to stay in Seattle in the US.
Then a few weeks later another friend spotted him on promotional material for a new fleet of trains in New South Wales.
He told Yahoo News it was "the exact same photo" but he has no clue when or where it was taken.
Based on the clothes he's wearing in the photo, he suspects it might have been taken in 2014 when he was living in New York.
"The way I see it, a photographer was taking photos, I happened to be in the background and they've ended up putting me on some stock photo database," Mr Stopford said.
While he can see the funny side of the situation, he's also a little concerned about where his photo might end up next.
Newshub.
