Famous (ish) person messaging me

[Cat2014]

I have been chatting to someone who is kind of famous not like seriously film actor famous but social influencer. For a worth while cause , loads of followers and been in the news a lot fairly recently etc.
They have added me to a personal chat and we have been messaging and I think getting closer. I however keep thinking is this actually them? Could it be a member of their ‘staff’ just messing about? How can I trust that their messages are real?

I really like this person and I’m worried in case I’m being duped or something. Has anyone got any advice?

My BIL’s lovely autistic 30 year old son has just fallen prey to this kind of thing. He had been sending ‘small’ donations which have been building up to hundreds of pounds.
Please, please don’t fall for this.

May I recommend Becky Holmes hates Lettuce on Twitter? She does very amusing threads about online (romance) scammers.

And if they are asking for money from you they are most probably asking lots of other people too, sadly. Name them and the platform they are on, we will check it out and give our honest opinions!

Why would you "see if they're okay with that"?

And why would you then say, in response to a poster trying to look out for you, "thanks I’m not absolutely thick no need".

Even if its 'legit' they are basically asking you for a payment in return for their help, and they were only messaging you to suck you in. IDK why you are ok with this. Its skeevy.

Michael Jackson 😂

THIS. "if theyre ok with that"- WTF? This makes you sound like an absolute doormat.

IF this was genuine, surely they would have already provided the link for donations to their official donation page, they wouldnt be asking you in a private chat message for it. This is so dodgy I dont even know what to say. Wake up and see what is going on here.

Is that a verified one @lljkk ? Only I thought it was spinach she hated - wouldn't want to get scammed!

She's hilarious;
https://twitter.com/deathtospinach

How would ‘seeing if they’re ok with that’ help? They’ll say “Whatever you want to do, lovely Cat”. You’ll then tell them you gave £20 on the official page and they’ll pretend they know and praise you again. You’ll then think they’re genuine (if not this time, then the next time they pull such a stunt) and gradually as you get to know them, they’ll lull you into a false sense of security and before you know it you’ll be making donations via their ‘special’ account.

They’re a scammer. This is their job. They choose their victims well and they’re good at what they do.

Why would a “kind of famous” social media influencer have a member of staff to get involved in detailed chats with members of the public? What would be the benefit to them?

It sounds like a scam to be honest. And if you decide to make a donation a legit charity would let you donate the normal way. You don't ask if its ok to donate that way. How exactly did this person help you? it sounds like a excuse to make you feel like you owe him some thing.

How exactly did this person help you?

The Influencer generally replies to a follower’s question or gives some advice/ helps.

The follower is then targeted by a stranger posing as the influencer and invited into a private chat.

That’s kind of what happened but on the same channel

My Dsis thought that Jamie Oliver was following her on Instagram. Her kids soon put her right!!

i said above why I said that.
and the second comment was after the ‘oh my god’ and ‘wtf’ comments that were aimed at me

So they asked you for money? Yeah it’s not them sorry op.

Who is it with whom you think you have been corresponding?

I'd also post on that person's page that someone claiming to be them is asking for money.

Thanks. I will do. Thanks for the helpful posts and advice and it’s all sorted now in that I won’t be engaging with the messages now

This could not be more obvious of a scam. You're "wanting to see if they are ok with that" is your hopefulness that they will "convince" you. It's a scam. I'd suggest some therapy to figure out why you got so into this idea of talking to a celebrity because these scammers keep logs of who responds to them and what works and doesn't work. They come back as someone else and try again. In scam terms you are a known mark. That is someone who engages.

OP as gently as possible this is a known scam, they have been warming up to this, I am so sorry that you have been catfished. Xx

Well done for reaching out to get confirmation, I imagine its a boiling frog situation, you would have blocked him immediately if he asked for "a donation" straight away, but he's been buttering you up. Report the scanmer if you can.

As a rule of thumb…
any stranger who approaches you online- wanting to take your conversation into a private chat, asking you questions about your life and appearing to very interested in your replies, is to be regarded with suspicion.

It doesn’t matter who they are- whether that’s on a chat forum, a dating site or even if they’re some sort of celebrity. You don’t know them so don’t trust them or be fooled into thinking you can.

You have to. protect yourself otherwise you’re susceptible to this happening again.

Unfortunately, open, trusting or kind individuals are targeted and taken advantage of online on a daily basis- on a large scale.

Dont feel stupid- you’re nothing more than a victim- but be aware of this x

Face time them you have to be careful of catfishes especially anyone with an online following.