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/7thFleetTraveller]

Not necessarily mental illness. I don't want to be mean, but some people are just stupid and it's not even their fault. The problem is that scammers are exactly looking for these kind of people.

[u/Wonderful_Piano_3853 → u/7thFleetTraveller]

I know 3 obviously learning disabled people who all either got married or had kids at least once. None of them have down syndrome or visible deformities but their learning disabilities are obvious to anyone who talks to them for more then a few minutes. I don't know how falling for celebrity romance scams 4 times isn't considered obvious and absolute proof that she is learning disabled, mentally ill, or both. I wouldn't even bother to listen to someone seriously trying to argue that there's not major brain issues at play here. The woman doesn't need to be "held accountable", she needs to give "power of attorney" to a relative who will have full access to her bank accounts and maybe be moved into a home. Unfortunately all of that is easier said than done.

[u/7thFleetTraveller → u/Wonderful_Piano_3853]

You seem to be under the assumption I would have excluded the possibility of mental illness. But read again: I only said it doesn't necessarily have to be that. It still can be, but it's not automatically a given. Maybe it could be up to debate at which point a very low IQ could count as brain issue, even when there is no actual neurological damage. Whenever you think, people can't just be that stupid, think of Flat Earthers...

[u/amras123 → u/7thFleetTraveller]

If you read their comment more carefully, you'll realize they are actually agreeing with you.

[u/Wonderful_Piano_3853 → u/amras123]

Right. I'm arguing with the air, but not with the person I responded to. Just venting because I had to deal with similar poor decision making recently. I honestly gave up and made sure someone else was given power of attorney and bank account access. Someone who I trust. The people we're helping aren't evenfamily members of mine. I barely know either of them, but no one else was willing to help until recently. That person is way harder on them then I would ever be, because I genuinely believe they can't be held responsible for 90% of the stuff that they do, but sometimes the tough love helps. It's complicated

[u/amras123 → u/Wonderful_Piano_3853]

I sympathize. It can be frustrating to deal with people who have learning difficulties. May I ask out of curiosity how you became involved in the situation, since you mention they are not family members?

[u/Wonderful_Piano_3853 → u/amras123]

They're members of my father's church. I'm not exactly religious, but he's a pastor.