Woman 'ripped to bits' after being scammed out of $105,000 by fake Jason Momoa
One woman was left feeling 'ripped to bits' after discovering that she'd been talking to a fake Jason Momoa, as a cybercriminal posing as the famous Hollywood actor contacted her on Facebook, scamming her out of around $105,000 in the process.
It has never been harder to know what's real or fake on the internet thanks to the advancements made in artificial intelligence, yet for decades people have been easily fooled by those pretending to be someone they're not.
This often goes beyond the practice of catfishing, as instead of searching for love these scammers are on the hunt for money, and are willing to exploit people's naivety to get it.
We've seen people in the past be fooled by scammers pretending to be Brad Pitt in hospital, and even one who claimed to be an astronaut needing money to buy oxygen in space, and another unfortunate victim has shared her story after losing around $105,000.
Advert
As reported by the BBC, a woman referred to as 'Jane' who has changed her name to protect her identity has recalled how she was approached by a team of people pretending to be Aquaman star Jason Momoa, sharing her story to hopefully prevent anyone else from falling victim.
"We just got to talking on Facebook," she revealed. "He asked me if I'd seen his films and I said 'yes', then he asked me to move to WhatsApp as it's encrypted and it's safer as he's a celebrity."
She added that "the account looked real, it was all very clever," so while it might seem ridiculous from the outside, it's easy to see how some might get swept up in it all.
It didn't take long for 'representatives' of the fake Momoa to start contacting Jane too, with his 'agent', people claiming to be from his bank, and even his 'daughter' asking her for money.
"They manipulated me," Jane admitted, illustrating that she feels 'ripped to bits' after realizing the situation she was in. "I've lost an awful lot of money — around £80,000 ($105,000) [from an inheritance]. You feel stupid, but I just hope by me speaking it can help others."
The money in question was needed for a number of things, including flights for her to go and meet Momoa and presents for his daughter. For the flights, it was initially proposed that he would pay, but quickly that was turned back on her.
He even claimed that he was in a legal battle with his ex-wife over their house, and he simply needed a marriage certificate to keep it. Feeling gullible, Jane forked up the cash for the certificate, although she saw nothing in return.
It took until the £18,000 ($23,700) mark for Jane to start wondering why she was paying for all of this and not him, recalling thinking: "You're the one with all the money, you're supposed to be the celebrity."
She kept going though on the promise that her money would be returned, and they even claimed that they needed her money first before they could send it back.
"They're so clever the way they do it, and they make you feel like you're the one in the wrong," she illustrated.
It only took until the scammers posed as police officers and courier drivers threatening to go to her home and take more money for her to finally contact the authorities, who then informed her she was being scammed.
"It's the most horrible thing that's ever happened in my life, and the worst thing was not being able to tell anyone what was happening."