What would you do if a movie star approached you and expressed their interest in you? Would you badge? A woman in the UK was tricked into spending a whole Ksh 13.1 on a con.
The con artist posing as actor Jason Statham told the woman he loved her and tricking her into sending hundreds of thousands of pounds in a scam on Facebook and WhatsApp
The victim was targeted in a scam through Facebook and WhatsApp, and groomed into thinking that she was messaging the British star of The Transporter and The Fast and the Furious.
The fraudster tricked her into believing that he was going through financial problems and demanded payments of Ksh2.6 milion a time, leading to a series of wire transfers amounting to the KSh13.1 million
The victim said she was going through a vulnerable time after the deaths of her mother and fiancé, and police believe the sick criminal who preyed on her – calling her “baby” and “honey” – was operating from overseas.
The person told the woman, who is from the North West of England, that he could trust only her with his money and he wanted her to be the “special woman beside me for the rest of your life”.
The woman, told the BBC she is a strong person but let her guard down when she wasn’t “in the right place” given the personal tragedies she had been through.
She said the scam began when she visited a Facebook page dedicated to Mr Statham, and someone contacted her posing as the actor.
The con artist then switched to using encrypted WhatsApp as they exchanged hundreds of messages over several months.
According to a recreation by the BBC, in one series of messages the fraudster wrote: “Just send £20k this night and tomorrow you do the same then by Friday it’s already done.
During that time the woman thought she was building a relationship with Mr Statham.
The fraudster claimed a film payment was delayed and asked her to help him through financial problems.
After making multiple payments, she eventually contacted Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to report the fraud.
The Economic Crime Unit launched an investigation but determined the fraudster was operating from overseas, and the force was unable to charge anyone.