Police have issued a warning over romance scams involving fake celebrity profiles, after a woman was cheated out of £5,000 by someone posing as TV chef James Martin.
The victim believed she was messaging the star on Facebook and eventually handed over the money as a "loan", Nottinghamshire Police said. The force recorded 23 reports of romance scams in August and September, though the true number is likely higher as victims are often too embarrassed to come forward.
Three of the reported cases were celebrity impersonation scams. In one, a vulnerable woman was conned into buying Steam Gift Cards after thinking she had been talking to Il Divo singer Urs Bühler for two months. Another woman was tricked into believing she was communicating with Take That's Gary Barlow on TikTok, then coerced into sending explicit images which led to a blackmail attempt.
Det Sgt Tara Clapperton said the scams were "clever" and "not dissimilar to grooming", with victims thinking they are falling in love while actually falling for a fraud.
