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Original poster

Friend scammed by fake celeb online

40 replies

BrassCandlestick · 14/10/2023 22:24

My friend, aged 68, told me today that she'd been chatting with a celebrity (irrelevant who really, but she said it was Russell Brand; she's a big fan) online and that he was really fun to talk to. She said he was trying to give her some money.

I was worried as it seemed unlikely that he would spend 3 hrs talking to her.
I went to see her immediately and looked at the messages on her phone.

She has been talking to this person for 6 days. They of course, are not Russell Brand but it was a blue-ticked 'business' account on FB.

She has given them her home address, her date of birth, her bank card number and expiry date, sent them several photos of herself and told them she lives alone.

The conversation consisted of them asking her to register for priority tickets via a dodgy looking link. When she couldn't manage that, they asked her to buy a Steam gift card for $200 and send a picture of it. She said she couldn't afford that and then they said to just get one for $50 (we are in the UK but even the dollar thing didn't rouse her suspicion). When she said she would have to see in the morning if the Coop sold them, the person asked for her bank details and she just handed them over. I'm stupefied.

I got her to speak to her bank to cancel her debit card and she's had a stern talking to by me. The person has been blocked now but she can't delete the messages she has sent them. I am very worried as she has given them everything they need for identity theft, let alone the risk of being burgled or worse.

What other steps can I get her to take? I have made her promise not to do anything like this again but unfortunately she has a lot of memory issues and she's very prone to going down online rabbit holes and believing what she reads/hears.

She is embarrassed but I know her well; she will brush it all under the carpet now and try not to think of it again. I'm worried about the consequences.

OP posts:
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SoEffingGrumpy · 14/10/2023 22:35

Did she check her bank and see how much, if anything, they had taken?

Original poster
BrassCandlestick · 14/10/2023 23:17

As I said, she called the bank to stop her card. She doesn't know yet if anything was taken.

OP posts:

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LoudSnoringDog · 14/10/2023 23:18

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mynameiscalypso · 14/10/2023 23:19

She can register with CIFAS to protect her identity from identity theft.

LIZS · 14/10/2023 23:22

Report to Action Fraud.

CesareBorgia · 14/10/2023 23:22

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No, she is not 'stupid'. She's naive and probably a bit lonely.

Aposterhasnoname · 14/10/2023 23:22

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Well, that’s helpful isn’t it. She’s clearly vulnerable, have a day off from being a twat.

ReverseEmotion · 14/10/2023 23:23

Well……you never know RB has had his money making capabilities somewhat limited recently so maybe it was him !

WhateverMate · 14/10/2023 23:25

There was a thread nearly identical to this the other week.

Seems like there's a lot of it about.

Beckafett · 14/10/2023 23:26

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Is there any need for this comment? The OP came for support.
OP I'm sorry- I echo the bank comments and perhaps show her some scamming examples that may help her see how you can be a nice person but still check things

Jewelspun · 14/10/2023 23:28

I get scammers all the time! I had a Russell Brand recently and accepted his friend request to have some fun and pretended I was a real life friend.

He was Nigerian.

Friend scammed by fake celeb online
Friend scammed by fake celeb online
Friend scammed by fake celeb online
Jouleigh · 14/10/2023 23:31

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She was caught up in a scam. It's people who don't understand that who are stupid

confusedmum2023 · 14/10/2023 23:31

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Oh come on, she’s 68 with memory issues. Probably lonely and was enjoying a bit of attention. Stop being nasty.

SnakeyS · 14/10/2023 23:32

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Do you have no empathy?

confusedmum2023 · 14/10/2023 23:34

Jewelspun · 14/10/2023 23:28

I get scammers all the time! I had a Russell Brand recently and accepted his friend request to have some fun and pretended I was a real life friend.

He was Nigerian.

This is brilliant 👏

Original poster
BrassCandlestick · 14/10/2023 23:36

That's a good tip about CIFAS, I will tell her tomorrow

OP posts:
Original poster
BrassCandlestick · 14/10/2023 23:43

LIZS · 14/10/2023 23:22

Report to Action Fraud.

I had a look at this, I think this will only be applicable if money was taken from her or her identity cloned - which we don't know if it has yet

OP posts:
Mydogmybestfriend · 15/10/2023 00:16

There's a story about this in the news

fisherhatesgravel · 15/10/2023 00:22

I know a lady of similar age who is in contact with 'Kevin Costner' on Facebook. She knows it's not him and is waiting for the requests for money, though it's been a while now so maybe it is him..,

Nn9011 · 15/10/2023 00:35

Action Fraud isn't just identity theft they deal with these too. If she's worried about identity theft she should however report also to CIFAS.
My concern would now be that these fraudsters know she's vulnerable to this type of scan however. It's unlikely they'll do identity theft, what they actually do is create other profiles and try to scam her again as other celebs or even as normal people. It's very common for people who fall victim to this scam, to be scammed multiple times. I would get her to research romance scams, look up the YouTube social catfish and get her to watch some of their videos on catching these people as they give really good advice and talk to her about Internet safety. It will probably not be too long before they try again sadly.

CarpetLady · 15/10/2023 00:44

Your poor friend. Being scammed is horrible and can really upset someone’s confidence and ability to cope- an elderly friend of mine was scammed (even had the scammers coming to the house and she gave them her card) and it affected her terribly.

Your friend is lucky to have you. As well as telling her what she’s done wrong, she might also need a bit of a boost to carry on life with confidence.

lemmein · 15/10/2023 01:20

I'd encourage her to set up a free account with credit karma or similar then least she'll be notified if financial accounts are opened in her name.

RantyAnty · 15/10/2023 01:40

The best thing to do for anyone who has relatives who are unsure about social media is to set their accounts to block DMs and friend requests from people they don't know.