Pensioner left at her ‘wit’s end’ after being scammed out of £500 by ‘bogus Andrew Lincoln’
A pensioner was scammed out of £500 by a “bogus” scammer who pretended to be actor Andrew Lincoln.
Sheelagh Ennis, 68, from Glasgow, was left at her “wit’s end” when she discovered that the person she was messaging – who she believed to be The Walking Dead star – was actually a catfish.
The actor, who is featured in Love Actually, had been in the Scottish city filming a TV show.
She began interacting with a Facebook account proclaiming to be the star on September 20. She first reached out when she saw the user post a photo of Lincoln at Celtic Park.
Ennis, a Celtic fan, asked the account if the actor would be at the next game against Falkirk, saying that she would “dearly love to meet”.
The catfish responded that due to Lincoln’s schedule, he would not be able to meet. However, for a fee of $1,500 (£1,154), she could book a “private meet and greet”.
She was told to contact the email address celebritybookingmanagement71@gmail.com if she was interested in coming face to face with the star.
However, the price was too high and the 68-year-old decided to turn down the offer to meet Lincoln, a man she described as “one of my heroes”.
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She said she “couldn’t possibly afford” the fee and thanked the person she believed to be Lincoln for their time.
The account, which had more than 2,500 followers before it was deleted, replied and said it was willing to offer her a discount because she had been “so polite”.
“I always try to not make things too difficult for my genuine fans,” the con artist wrote, “because I won’t be here without you all.”
The scammer gave her an initial reduced rate of £200, however, this figure quickly increased.
Ennis, who lives with her partner James Shields, 71, said: “James did think that was quite strange, but I didn’t, because I wanted to meet this guy, he’s one of my heroes from The Walking Dead.
“Then they asked for another £200 for the meet-up, saying the first £200 was for his entourage. I paid that as well.”
Over the space of a few weeks, Ennis sent the catfish a total of £500, including £100 on a “fan card” to prove that she was “genuine”.
However, when a meet-up failed to materialise, Ennis became suspicious.
The catfish tried to reassure that he was genuine and that he “trusts her”. Though soon after, the account disappeared entirely and “cut off all contact” with Ennis.
The 68-year-old said: “We can’t let this lie. We’re pensioners, and we can’t afford to lose £500 on nothing when we thought we were going to get something out of it.”
Ennis was not the only victim of the scam. After contacting a recipient of one of the PayPal transactions, they said that they too had been swindled.
“It was too much for me to bear. I’ve never been caught like this before; I’m usually pretty good. I was so excited to meet him. They preyed on me,” she said.
The pensioner has not reported it to the police yet, though is considering it, admitting: “I’m at my wit’s end.”