A WOMAN has told how she was catfished by a scammer pretending to be Gary Barlow who told her he loved her and asked her for money.
Janet Smith, 62, genuinely believed she was talking to the Take That singer for about a week after she added him as a friend on Facebook.
But after the fraudster bombarded her with compliments and messages, even saying he had “split up”, Janet grew suspicious and eventually convinced him to reveal his true identity.
The cheat admitted he was actually a 24-year-old from Nigeria.
He apologised for lying to her before telling Janet he really did love her and asking for cash.
Pizza restaurant worker Janet, from Colchester, Essex, is speaking out to raise awareness of online scammers and warn older people to be alert.
She said: “It’s so sad because he’s been saying to me ‘I love you’.
“I said ‘I am 62 – you’re 24’.
“I’m saddened because he is poor and he’s got no money.
“For the last week, he’s been constantly texting me, asking me where I am.
“He was texting me from 9am to 3am.
“Elderly people are going to be adding these ‘celebrities’. They’re going to be conning these old people.
“I understand that they are poor and they have to get money for their family, but people might lose a lot of money over this. It’s also giving celebrities a bad name.”
Initially, Janet believed that she had added the real Gary Barlow on Facebook on March 26.
“I was talking to him all week and he was saying to me, ‘I’m busy, I’ve got a lot of schedules’, she said.
“He was kind. He was nice. He was really lovely, saying, ‘Good morning. Good evening, I’ve seen your videos’ because I love to dance.
I’m Gary Barlow, I’ve split up’
Online scammer
“The words were really posh – ‘I’m in a meeting now’ and ‘I’m practising for a concert.
“And it was going well. He just kept saying ‘I’m Gary Barlow, I’ve split up’.”
After a few days, Janet started to get suspicious and realised the man she was speaking to couldn’t possibly be the real Barlow.
“Gary Barlow would not talk to somebody like me, he’s too famous,” she said.
“I just thought, this isn’t Gary Barlow.”
“I kept saying, ‘you’re not the real one!’ And he was saying, ‘You’re lovely, you’re kind, yes, I am Gary Barlow’.”
Eventually, Janet managed to persuade the scammer to reveal the truth by telling him he could have her WhatsApp number in exchange for his true identity.
She added: “He sent me a message to say, ‘look I’m really sorry: I’m going to tell you the truth’ and he told me his name.
“He is very poor.
“He’s on WhatsApp and he’s texting me saying, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve done fraud but we come from a poor family. I do admire Gary Barlow, I like singing and I like his songs’.”
Feeling bad for the scammer
The man eventually confessed his love for her.
Janet said: “He said, ‘I thought you would be able to help me and my family but it’s sad that you can’t’.
“I asked him what he meant by that and he said ‘some money to get some food in Nigeria’.”
When Janet asked how much he needed, his response was: “I don’t have the power to tell you how much you will give me, only you know in your heart.”
Janet told him she was “not in a position to do that”, but says that the whole experience has left her feeling “really guilty”.
Now, Janet said she is sharing her story to help others avoid such scammers in future.
She said: “There were 20 Tom Jones.
“And Michael Barrymore has been coming up. When they send a message, it’s similar.
“I think a lot of these foreign people are doing this because their countries are poor, but people think they’re real celebrities.”
How to protect yourself from scams
BY keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid getting caught up in a scam:
- Firstly, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is.
- Check brands are “verified” on Facebook and Twitter pages – this means the company will have a blue tick on its profile.
- Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a “friend” informing you of a freebie, consider whether it’s written in your friend’s normal style.
- If you’re invited to click on a URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine?
- To be on the really safe side, don’t click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact.
- Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware.
- If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it.
- If you think you’ve fallen for a scam, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting tool.