Walking Dead-loving OAP hit by £500 con by fella on Facebook who’s ‘Andrew Lincoln’
A Glaswegian pensioner was fleeced out of £500 by a scammer impersonating The Walking Dead actor Andrew Lincoln.
Sheelagh Ennis, 68, started messaging with a Facebook account she believed was run by the English actor — who has been filming in Glasgow recently — on September 20.
Over the next month, Sheelagh sent more than £500 to various Paypal accounts at the request of the catfish.
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Sheelagh, from Parkhead, Glasgow, first messaged the account, which had over 2,500 followers before its deletion, on Facebook Messenger after it posted a picture of Love Actually star Andrew Lincoln at Celtic Park, reports Glasgow Live.
She had hoped Andrew would attended the next game against Falkirk, however the catfish claimed Andrew’s schedule would not allow it. Instead, they invited her to book a “private meet and greet” with the actor for a fee of $1,500 (£1,154), and asked her to book via email.
Sheelagh turned the offer down, saying “couldn’t possibly afford” it. In responses the account offered her a discount because she had been “so polite all through”.
The con artist wrote: “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 initially quoted Sheelagh a reduced rate of £200 for the meet-and-greet, however she added: “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 following weeks, Sheelagh sent a total of £500 to the scammer, including £100 for a ‘fan card’ she says was to prove that she was ‘genuine’, as the scammer continued to promise her that she would meet the star.
After Sheelagh requested a refund from PayPal after growing suspicious, the scammer reassured her that he was legitimate and saying he would still go ahead with the meeting as he “trusts” her. The account has since disappeared from Facebook, and the email account has stopped responding.
She 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.”
Sheelagh was directed to pay the money via Paypal to various accounts. She contacted one of the apparent recipients by email, who responded to say that they too had been scammed.
“After I paid, they cut all contact with me,” said Sheelagh, who says enjoys meeting her heroes – in fact, her flat is covered in photographs of her with Celtic stars present and past.
She said: “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.
“Yesterday, I got another message from another account claiming to be Andrew Lincoln, and it said “Forget about the past, worry about the future; the money you have lost has gone to an impersonator.”
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