A woman who thought she was dating George Ezra has revealed how she was actually scammed by a catfish hoping to rack up some cash.
Helen – who went only by her first name – told This Morning how an innocent post on the musician’s fan club page led to a web of lies and betrayal, with the impostor asking her for £5,000 and seemingly then going on to impersonate a loan company and New Scotland Yard officers.
The fraud victim, who has been divorced for eight years and has three kids, was eventually saved by her daughter, who immediately grew suspicious when she heard everything and took the story to Catfish UK.
It was soon revealed that the fraudster tried to ask Helen for money and seemingly took on various identities to do so.
A woman who thought she was dating George Ezra has revealed how she was actually scammed by a catfish hoping to rack up some cash
It all started when Helen heard the musician’s tune playing in a shop, and penned a grateful post on George’s page, thanking him for making the fans smile.
She soon got a reply from the George Ezra fan club saying to send a DM – and days later, Helen saw what she thought was a friend request from the real Green Green Grass singer on Facebook.
Before long, she and ‘George’ were chatting almost constantly.
The scammer impersonating the 29-year-old celeb said he reached out because he had music coming out – and claimed his manager told him to get in touch with some fans.
She soon got a reply from the George Ezra fan club saying to send a DM – and days later, Helen saw what she thought was a friend request from the real Green Green Grass singer (pictured in December) on Facebook
‘I tried to phone him once,’ she told presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. ‘And he blocked it…And then sent me a message back, “I’m in the studio, don’t call me during the day.”‘
The fraudster also warned her against telling anyone about their messaging ‘for press reasons’.
‘George’ had even wanted Helen to come off social media entirely and change her email address.
She also admitted to never finding their lack of voice conversations unusual, as they both led busy lives.
Helen told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby (pictured) all about the scam, which left her thinking that George Ezra was in love with her
The pair got so close online, that the catfish said ‘I could marry you’ – and Helen turned him down as she’s ‘so much older’.
Her daughter then got suspicious once she got the information out of her mother – and insisted that the real George Ezra is not likely to be messaging her.
‘I didn’t tell her about it at first because I knew she wouldn’t believe me,’ Helen revealed.
Her daughter then contacted Catfish UK, who asked the mother-of-three if her beau ever asked for money – and as it so happens, he had.
Her daughter then got suspicious once she got the information out of her mother – and insisted that the real George Ezra (pictured last month) is not likely to be messaging her
‘George’ told Helen he wanted to meet her but – as not to arouse suspicion – insisted it would need to be via an official channel like a meet-and-greet, which would cost her £5,000 – then bumped down to £2,500.
She said no to this, telling Phil and Holly that the rejection made the fraudster ‘upset’ as he pushed for her to make the trip. Then, things escalated as the scammer began to play different roles.
Helen later got a phone call from an alleged loan company at six o’clock in the morning advising that her loan – of what is understood to be £26,000 – had been successful.
As she never applied for one – and was also dealing with unusual activity on her account – she flagged the issue.
The so-called loan company then said they’ll report the incident, telling her she would get a call about it.
‘The next thing I know, there’s a policeman from New Scotland Yard calling me up, saying….”We believe you’ve been part of a bigger scam that’s serious organised crime,”‘ she revealed.
However, these alleged officials too were scammers, who asked her to ‘move the money’ into an escrow account – ‘so that while the prosecution is happening it would be safe’.
‘He gave me a number to call to verify himself,’ Helen added. ‘Which was the old New Scotland Yard number, as I found later, and kept going to voicemail’.
Helen’s story resolution will air on Catfish on February 1 – and the mother-of-three admitted she still loves George Ezra; and says despite everything, she’s still open to meeting people.
Phil and Holly read out a statement from the real George Ezra, which said: ‘I’m shocked and saddened to hear that a fan of mine has been taken advantage of in this way.
‘I hope that the authorities can find a way to help police and deter the rise of catfishing and that innocent people can be protected from anyone looking to deceive and defraud them.’
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