I was conned out of £500 by bogus Andrew Lincoln after scammer said I could book a private meet and greet while the star was in town... I just wanted to meet my hero
A Glasgow pensioner says she has been left at her wits end after she was scammed out of hundreds of pounds by a con artist pretending to be The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln.
A Glasgow pensioner says she has been left at her wits end after she was scammed out of hundreds of pounds by a con artist pretending to be The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln.
Sheelagh Ennis, 68, said she started messaging a Facebook account she believed was run by the English actor - who has been filming ITVs six-part crime thriller Cold Water in Glasgow - on September 20.
Over the next month, Sheelagh sent more than £500 to various Paypal accounts at the direction of the catfish.
Sheelagh, from Parkhead, reached out to the account, which had more than 2,500 followers before it was deleted, after seeing a posted picture of Love Actually star Andrew Lincoln at Celtic Park.
She asked if Mr Lincoln would be attending the next game against Falkirk, saying she would dearly love to meet the man she described as one of my heroes.
Sheelagh Ennis, 68, says she has been left at her wits end after she was scammed out of hundreds of pounds by a con artist pretending to be The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln
Sheelagh, pictured with her partner James Shields, sent more than £500 to various Paypal accounts at the direction of the catfish, because she believed she would meet Andrew Lincoln
The catfish behind the account told Sheelagh that the actors schedule would not allow it, but that she could book a private meet and greet with him for $1,500 (£1,154), and asked her to book via email, giving the address celebritybookingmanagement71@gmail.com.
Sheelagh told the account she couldnt possibly afford the fee, but thanked the person she thought was Mr Lincoln for taking the time to talk to her.
The account replied and told Sheelagh because she had been so polite all through he would talk to the supposed management firm and get them to offer her a discount.
I always try to not make things too difficult for my genuine fans, the scammer wrote, because I wont be here without you all.
The scammer initially quoted a reduced rate of £200 for the meet-and-greet.
Sheelagh, who lives with partner James Shields, 71, said: James did think that was quite strange, but I didnt, because I wanted to meet this guy, hes 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 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.
Messages show the scammer posing as Mr Lincoln reassuring Sheelagh, telling her how he personally was trying to smooth over problems with the supposed booking and management company and that he was thinking over covering 80% of the cost of the booking.
He also asked Sheelagh why she had requested a refund from Paypal after she became suspicious, reassuring her that he was legitimate and saying he would still go ahead with the meeting as he trusts her.
Sheelagh reached out to a Facebook account purporting to be run by actor Andrew Lincoln, who she described as one of my heroes
The scam coincided with The Love Actually star, 50, returning to British shores to film his new ITV drama, Cold Water. Pictured: Lincoln in The Walking Dead
The account has since disappeared from Facebook, and the email account has stopped responding.
She said: We cant let this lie. Were pensioners, and we cant 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. Ive never been caught like this before; Im 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.
Sheelagh, who was born in County Meath, Ireland, has not reported the incident to police but is considering it, and added: Im at my wits end.
The scam coincided with The Love Actually star, 50, returning to British shores to film his new ITV drama.
Lincoln has been spotted recently in Dennistoun, Glasgows east end, filming scenes with his co-star, Game of Thrones actor Indira Varm.
The role will be The Walking Dead stars first television role in the UK in 15 years.
He will be joined by the likes of big names Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting) and Eve Myles (Keeping Faith) for the show.
Janet Smith, 62, genuinely believed she was talking to the Take That singer for about a week, after she added him as a friend on Facebook
Lincoln plays a middle-age man living in London who is secretly raging at his life as a stay-at-home dad.
MailOnline has contacted Andrew Lincolns representatives for comment.
Several other pensioners around the country have been targeted by fake celebrities into sending them thousands of pounds, with police recently issuing a warning against the scams.
In August, MailOnline reported that a woman in her 90s from Milford on Sea, Hampshire, handed over £13,000 to a conman pretending to be Welsh singer Tom Jones, while a man in his 60s from Lymington was tricked by a fake Celine Dion.
He was persuaded to pay £910 in money and gift cards after being told the Canadian singer had been robbed and needed assistance.
Earlier this year, a woman revealed how she was catfished by a man pretending to be Gary Barlow.
Janet Smith, 62, from Colchester, Essex, genuinely believed she was talking to the Take That singer for about a week, after she added him as a friend on Facebook.
The fake Barlow bombarded her with compliments and messages and said he had split up - which Janet took to mean from his wife.
She believed she had been talking to him all week - sometimes from 9am all the way through to 3am the following morning.
In a long string of messages, he told Janet he loved her and praised her dancing in videos.
The scammer would break up discussions, however, by claiming to be in a meeting and to be practicing for a concert.
When he started to ask for money after a few days, Janet, who works in a pizza restaurant, started to get suspicious and realised the man she was speaking to couldnt be the real Barlow.
Meanwhile terminally ill pensioner Valerie Horwood, 81 revealed she was left feeling suicidal after a conman posed as Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and scammed her out of £140,000.
Valerie received a Facebook message in September 2022 from someone claiming to be Mr Blackmore, who she went to school with.
The pensioner from Fleet, Hampshire, was talked into buying hundreds of Apple gift cards for the user under the promise she would get it all returned plus more.
She was also convinced that all their conversations needed to be kept secret due to his celebrity status.
The scam victim had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and said she no longer has any money to live out her last wishes or gift to her children.
