Woman conned out of £500,000 by scammer posing as Gerard Butler-Cydney Yeates-Entertainment – Metro

A woman was scammed out of £500,000 by a fraudster posing as Gerard Butler online.

The victim, who joined Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on Tuesday’s This Morning to share her ordeal, had just lost the love of her life when cruel scammers took advantage and talked her into sending large quantities of cash.

The former police officer explained that she parted ways with her money when ‘Gerard’ told her he was building a compound for homeless children and families, which included a school.

‘They were building houses, they were building a hospital, they were other outbuildings being built,’ she said.

‘Did he do it through a foundation?’ Phil probed. ‘Did he say he had a charitable foundation?’

‘He just sent the plans of what was being built, how it was being built, and were building funds to get it all built in one go rather than sections,’ she replied.

The woman shared that the most money she sent her attacker in one lump sum was £20,000.

The victim sent over £20,000 in one of her several transactions (Picture: ITV)

The fraudster, posing as A-lister Gerard, claimed the money was going towards building shelters for the homeless (Picture: Getty)

It’s fair to say that viewers had little sympathy for the victim.

‘Oh gosh, I mean I can semi-understand people getting catfished…but when “Gerard Butler” pops up in your DMs, I really struggle to understand how someone will fall for a celebrity,’ one wrote.

Echoing a similar sentiment, another said: ‘I find it really hard to sympathise with this woman, no suspicions about sending £500k to “Gerard Butler” over Facebook messenger come on.’

‘How do people believe they’re being contacted by celebrities?’ asked a third. ‘I’ve had messages from so-called celebrities and they’re deleted and blocked.’

In 2019, Gerard warned of imposters posing as him on social media.

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‘Hi Everyone – this is a list of my official and only social media accounts,’ he shared. ‘If anyone reaches out to you on the internet saying they are me by email or otherwise, ignore them.

‘I do not have any personal accounts. You will only hear from me right here.’

This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.

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