A woman has revealed how she was tricked by a man posing as Gary Barlow – who turned out to be a scammer trying to take her money.
Janet Smith, 62, honestly believed she was speaking to the Take That singer for about a week, after adding him as a friend on Facebook.
Fake Gary bombarded her with compliments and messages and said he had “separated” – which is what Janet thought she meant about his wife.
But she became suspicious and eventually convinced the scammer to reveal his true identity.
The cheater said he was actually a 24-year-old man from Nigeria and was sorry for lying to the pizzeria worker in Colchester, Essex – but he also told Janet that he really loved her and kept asking for money.
Janet Smith, 62, honestly believed she was speaking to the Take That singer for about a week, after adding him as a friend on Facebook.
Fake Gary bombarded her with compliments and messages and said he had ‘separated’ – which is what Janet thought she meant about his wife
She said: “It’s so sad because he says ‘I love you’ to me.
“I said, ‘I’m 62, you’re 24.’ I am sad because he is poor and has no money.
“For the past week he has been constantly texting me asking where I am. He was texting me from 9am to 3am.
Janet is now speaking out to raise awareness of online scammers and warn older people to be vigilant.
“Older people will add these ‘celebrities’. They’re going to defraud these elderly people,” she said.
“I understand that they are poor and they have to find money for their families, but people could lose a lot of money because of this. It also gives celebrities a bad name.
Janet initially thought she added the real Gary Barlow to Facebook on March 26 this year.
“I talked to him all week and he was like, ‘I’m busy, I have a lot of schedules,'” she said.
‘He was nice. He was nice. He was really sweet and said to me: “Hello. Good evening, I saw your videos” because I love dancing.
“The words were really chic: ‘I’m in a meeting now’ and ‘I’m practicing for a concert.’
“And it was going well. He kept saying “My name is Gary Barlow, I’ve separated…”
Janet is now speaking out to raise awareness of online scammers and warn older people to be vigilant.
Janet initially thought she added the real Gary Barlow to Facebook on March 26 this year.
Janet said the scammer used “posh words” during their first conversation.
The scammer also asked if Janet was a journalist during their initial conversations.
After a few days, Janet became suspicious and realized that the man she was talking to couldn’t be the real Barlow.
“Gary Barlow wouldn’t talk to someone like me, he’s too famous,” she said. “I just thought it wasn’t Gary Barlow.”
“I kept saying, ‘You’re not the real one!’ And he was saying, ‘You’re lovely, you’re nice, yes, I’m Gary Barlow.’
Eventually, Janet managed to persuade the scammer to reveal the truth by telling him he could have her WhatsApp number in exchange for her real identity.
She added: “He sent me a message saying, ‘Look, I’m really sorry: I’m going to tell you the truth’ and he gave me his name.
“He is very poor. He’s on WhatsApp and texts me saying, “I’m sorry, I cheated but we come from a poor family.” I admire Gary Barlow, I love singing and I love his songs.
The man ended up confessing his love to her.
Janet said: “He said, ‘I thought you would be able to help me and my family, but it’s sad you can’t.’
‘I asked him what he meant by that and he said ‘a little money to buy food in Nigeria’.’
Janet said she was sharing this story to help others avoid such scammers in the future.
After a few days, Janet became suspicious and realized that the man she was talking to couldn’t be the real Barlow.
The cheater said he was actually a 24-year-old man from Nigeria and was sorry for lying to the pizzeria worker in Colchester, Essex.
When Janet asked him how much he needed, his response was, “I have no power to tell you how much you will give me, only you know in your heart.”
Janet told her she was “not in a position to do that”, but said the whole experience left her “really guilty”.
Now, Janet said she is sharing this story to help others avoid such scammers in the future.
She said: “There were 20 Tom Joneses.
“And Michael Barrymore came. When they send a message, it’s the same.
“I think a lot of these foreigners do this because their country is poor, but people think they are real celebrities.”
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