Twelve similar scams were reported to Nottinghamshire Police in September
Nottinghamshire Police is warning online daters about the dangers of fake celebrity profiles after a woman was duped out of thousands of pounds by a romance fraudster posing as TV chef James Martin. The Nottinghamshire woman believed she was exchanging messages with the ITV star on Facebook and lost about £5,000 in the scam.
In the James Martin catfishing example, the woman ignored three messages before the scammer managed to convince her he was the TV chef. He then coerced the woman into lending him money, which she didn’t get back. Detective Sergeant Tara Clapperton, of Nottinghamshire Police’s fraud prevention team, explained how typical celebrity impersonator romance scams work. She said: “These scammers exploit fans’ trust and enthusiasm to perpetrate impostor scams, aiming to illicitly gain financial benefits, personal data, or even install malicious software such as malware or ransomware on their victims’ devices.
“Eventually they will start to tell stories about family or legal issues, business problems or medical bills. They might appear reluctant to accept any help at first, but this is all part of the con. She said: “A lot of people hear about these scams and think ‘I wouldn’t be taken in by that’. But these scams are clever and that’s why it’s really important people exercise vigilance communicating with others online.
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