A Virgin River fan was reportedly scammed out of $375,000 (approximately RM1.8 million) and even moved to New Zealand after being tricked into believing she was in a long-distance relationship with actor Martin Henderson.

According to a report by the New Zealand Herald, the victim—referred to under the pseudonym Lea—was first contacted by someone claiming to be Henderson’s agent after she posted on a Virgin River fan page. This individual later introduced her to someone impersonating Henderson himself, leading to a two-year-long online romance built on deception.

Lea stated that she spoke to the person posing as Henderson every day, bonding over common interests and personal stories. The scammer reportedly used AI-generated voice messages to mimic Henderson’s voice, making the deception even more convincing.

Throughout their relationship, the fraudster frequently requested money, leading Lea to send large sums for various fabricated reasons. These included:

• $10,000 (approximately RM48,000) for a supposed prison bailout

• $12,000 (approximately RM57,600) in gift cards

• 25 MacBooks for a “new business”

• $30,000 (approximately RM144,000) to charter a private jet from South Africa

• $56,000 (approximately RM268,800) in fake shipping invoices for a nonexistent box of valuables

• Multiple Bitcoin transfers totaling $5,000 each (approximately RM24,000 per transfer) 

Eventually, Lea’s suspicions were confirmed when a friend sent her a news article placing the real Henderson in New Zealand at a motorcycle rally—at the same time the scammer claimed he was hospitalized in Johannesburg due to a heart attack.

Henderson and Netflix have not publicly commented on the scam. However, similar celebrity impersonation schemes have made headlines recently. In January, a French woman lost $850,000 (approximately RM4 million) to a scammer pretending to be Brad Pitt, while Spanish authorities arrested five people last year for allegedly conning two victims out of $350,000 (approximately RM1.68 million)  using Pitt’s identity.

Henderson has starred as Jack Sheridan in Netflix’s Virgin River since the show’s 2019 debut. His character, a former Marine turned bar owner, has been at the heart of the romantic drama’s biggest storylines.

The actor’s face was the last one viewers saw in the show’s dramatic season six finale, where his character was left in shock after seeing something behind Charmaine’s (Lauren Hammersley) door. Even Henderson himself doesn’t know what his character witnessed, according to showrunner Patrick Sean Smith.

As online scams grow more sophisticated, this case serves as another reminder to exercise caution when interacting with supposed celebrities online—especially those with no verified social media presence.

Source: Entertainment Weekly