Walking Dead catfish cons Scots pensioner out of hundreds in meet and greet scam

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A pensioner was conned out of £500 by an online account impersonating The Walking Dead actor and her 'hero', Andrew Lincoln.

Sheelagh Ennis, 68, started messaging with a Facebook account she believed was run by the English actor - who has been filming in Glasgow recently - 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 over 2,500 followers before its deletion, over Facebook Messenger after it posted a 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 to our sister title Glasgow Live as “one of my heroes.”

The catfish behind the account told Sheelagh Mr Lincoln’s schedule would not allow it, but that she could book a “private meet and greet” with the actor for a fee of $1,500 (£1,154), and asked her to book via email. Sheelagh told the account that she “couldn’t possibly afford” the fee, but thanked the person she thought was Mr Lincoln for taking the time to talk to her.

The account responded to say that, since Sheelagh 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 won’t be here without you all.”

The scammer initially quoted her 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 didn’t, because I wanted to meet this guy, he’s 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.

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Messages seen by Glasgow Live 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, 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. The account has since disappeared from Facebook, and the email account has stopped responding.

She said: “We can’t let this lie. We’re pensioners, and we can’t 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. I’ve never been caught like this before; I’m 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 yet to report the incident to police but is considering it, and added: "I’m at my wit’s end.”

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