Fraudsters recently posed as legendary Hollywood actor Kevin Costner and preyed on a unsuspecting fan, Eileen Leeks. Leeks stated that she had been a passionate follower of the Yellowstone actor for around two years and came across a Facebook page that she believed belonged to the 69-year-old Oscar winner. After Leeks began following it, she was inundated with messages telling her that to become an official fan, she needed to purchase a £100 voucher to get a chance to meet the actor in person.
“I was getting nagged, and then I gave in because they were saying you won’t meet him unless you get the Apple cards, so I bought two at £100 each,” Leeks said. Initially, she was told she had been scammed and to meet Costner; she had to purchase a £1,000 VIP membership card. Ms Leeks was left astounded, saying, “I thought you’re joking – he’s a millionaire.”
To make matters worse, Ms Leeks received a bizarre video call from someone who she initially believed was the celebrity actor Kevin Costner. The person on the call used Costner’s face, moving features, and voice, making Leeks believe it was actually Costner. He told her that she had been scammed. After the call, Costner’s management team contacted her and reinforced that it was not the real Costner.
Ms Leeks was even offered a job and an apartment in America through a private messaging service by the scammers. The unemployed victim stated, “If fans think they are going to get a job in America and an apartment and they get all the way over there, they will lose an awful lot.” She said that she lost a lot of money and was unhappy about the whole incident.
The BBC contacted representatives for Kevin Costner, who did not promptly respond to the incident. As the story goes, this shows how easily people fall prey to scams on social media; one must be careful while operating online and verify things before investing any amount of money
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