A woman claims to have been scammed for tens of thousands of dollars by someone posing as Martin Henderson, the star of Netflix's 'Virgin River.'
A woman, speaking under the pseudonym Lea, claims to have been the victim of a two-year long, elaborate online scam involving an impersonator posing as Martin Henderson, the star of the Netflix series 'Virgin River.' The scammer initially contacted Lea through a 'Virgin River' fan page, pretending to be Henderson's agent. This contact then led her to a second individual who claimed to be Henderson himself.
Over the course of their virtual relationship, Lea alleges the scammer used artificial intelligence to generate voice messages mimicking Henderson's voice, responding to her emotional outpourings and always requesting money.Lea claims she spoke to the impersonator daily, sharing intimate details and common interests. The scammer exploited this trust, convincing her to make numerous substantial financial transactions on his behalf. These included a $10,000 'prison bailout,' $12,000 in gift cards, 25 MacBooks to 'start a new business,' several $5,000 bitcoin transfers, $56,000 on fake invoices for shipping a nonexistent box of valuables, and even chartering a private jet out of South Africa for $30,000.Lea's suspicions arose when she encountered a discrepancy in the impersonator's location. She questioned his whereabouts, noting that he claimed to be recovering from a heart attack in Johannesburg, South Africa, while reports placed him in New Zealand. This revelation ultimately led her to expose the scam. 'I thought, 'What is Martin doing in New Zealand in Matakana on a bike rally when he told me he was lying in a hospital bed in Johannesburg after a mild heart attack,'' she said. Henderson's representatives have stated that the actor is not on social media and would not engage in such behavior. They emphasized the importance of being cautious with unsolicited online interactions, particularly from celebrities with no official social media presence
MARTIN HENDERSON VIRGIN RIVER SCAM ONLINE FRAUD CELEBRITY IMPERSONATION AI VOICE TECHNOLOGY
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