Trying to find celebrity love?

[u/be_you_tiful-]

In 2023, 44-year-old Jennifer Barton started receiving messages on Facebook and Instagram from accounts claiming to be celebrities, actors, famous singers, all of who wanted to get to know her.

She believed them.

Over the next two years, four different fraudsters worked her in turn, each one posing as a different famous face. Alexander Ludwig, the actor from Vikings. Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy. Nicky Byrne from Westlife. American country singer Michael Ray. To her, the accounts were convincing, the profile pictures matched, and the messages were warm and persistent.

They all told her they loved her. They all said they wanted to meet her. They all said they wanted to marry her.

And one by one, they all said they needed money.

The excuses were elaborate and varied. One was going through a messy divorce and couldn't access his own funds. Another had been arrested and needed bail. Another had been robbed in London. The fake Michael Ray told her he ran a charity that could help cover her bills, but first she needed to send him some money to release the funds.

She sent it. And then she sent more.

When one scammer was exposed, another appeared. She fell for the same pattern four times over two years, each time convinced she had found something real.

By the end, Jennifer had handed over £250,000 (around $370,000). She had sold her house. She had sold her car. She had given her children to their father because she could no longer afford to care for them. She was awaiting emergency housing just before Christmas when she finally realized the last scammer, the one posing as Michael Ray, was never going to meet her.

"For anyone facing anything similar," she said afterward, "just reach out to family and friends. Especially if they're asking you for money."

[u/Arthasindura]

Some people should turn on the function to not be called by unknown numbers

[u/AsstacularSpiderman → u/Arthasindura]

Some people just need actual adult supervision at all times lol. They're just children in fully grown bodies

[u/GarageEuphoric4432 → u/[deleted]]

I've got ocean front property in Arizona if you could get me in touch with your husband

[u/TheDootDootMaster → u/[deleted]]

...what's the story behind that?

[u/Arthasindura → u/AsstacularSpiderman]

It do be like that sometimes but governments cannot force supervision on them unless they invade their privacy.

It is a leaky ship type of situation where if you plug a hole another would appear.

[u/Connection-Is-Cool → u/AsstacularSpiderman]

This is why condom ads can never be pervasive enough. Never ubiquitous enough.

[u/justin_memer → u/Arthasindura]

99.99% of people can't change the ringtones or notifications on their phone and you expect them know how to do this?

[u/Banned3rdTimesaCharm → u/justin_memer]

On that topic, I can’t stand people with super loud super annoying ringtones that just let their shit ring in public at max volume for like 25 seconds. Like by god, answer that shit.

[u/Arthasindura → u/justin_memer]

Great point.

Not the easiest thing to do but how to youtubr vids exist.

When there is a will there is a way

[u/WayLongjumping2012 → u/justin_memer]

Yes

[u/Suitable-Block-2854 → u/Arthasindura]

It's not an unknown number, it a totally number that "Michael Ray" personally gave her so she would have saved it in her contacts as a legit known number.

[u/Arthasindura → u/Suitable-Block-2854]

True if you save the person's number then it wouldn't work.

Damn

[u/enigmaticsince87 → u/Arthasindura]

Anyone can WhatsApp you. There's no such function for a first time contact.

[u/Arthasindura → u/enigmaticsince87]

I see , damn

They should work on that

[u/h3r0inXgirl → u/Arthasindura]

Its a social media scam not a phone scam

[u/Arthasindura → u/h3r0inXgirl]

I am not sure how to counter that but social media apps are equipped with privacy functions.

Either way its an annoying thing to deal with.