I was catfished by a fake Gary Barlow on Facebook: Woman, 62, reveals how she was scammed by 24-year-old scammer from Nigeria who posed as Take That star and bombarded her with compliments before asking her for money

A woman has revealed how she was caught by a man posing as Gary Barlow, who turned out to be a con man trying to take her money.

Janet Smith, 62, from Colchester, Essex, actually believed she had been chatting to the Take That singer for about a week after adding him as a friend on Facebook.

The fake Barlow bombarded her with compliments and messages, saying he had ‘broken up’ – which Janet thought he meant by his wife.

She thought she added the pop star last month and chatted with him all week, sometimes from 9am to 3am the next morning.

In a long series of messages, he told Janet he loved her and praised her dancing in videos.

However, the scammer broke off the discussions by claiming he was in a meeting and practicing for a concert.

When he started asking for money after a few days, Janet, who works at a pizza restaurant, became suspicious and realized that the man she was talking to could not be the real Barlow.

The fake Gary bombarded her with compliments and messages and said he had ‘broke up’ – which Janet assumed was his wife

Screenshots show the scammer telling Janet “my heart chooses you” and asking her to keep a secret

The scammer insisted that Janet would “know me very well” but claimed his management was keeping an eye on him

Janet initially thought she had added the real Gary Barlow (pictured in January 2024) to Facebook in March this year

He was eventually exposed as a 24-year-old man from Nigeria.

She said: ‘It’s so sad because he says to me, ‘I love you’.

‘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 texted me from 9am to 3am.”

Janet is now speaking out to raise awareness of online scammers – and warn older people to be alert.

‘Older people are going to add these ‘celebrities’. They’re going to scam these old people,” she said.

‘I understand that they are poor and need to get money for their families, but people can lose a lot of money because of this. It also gives celebrities a bad name.”

Initially, Janet thought she had added the real Barlow to Facebook on March 26 this year.

“I was talking to him all week and he said to me, ‘I’m busy, I have a lot of schedules,’” she said.

‘He was nice. He was nice. He was very nice and said, “Good morning. Good evening, I saw your videos,” because I like to dance.

‘The words were very chic: ‘I’m in a meeting right now’ and ‘I’m practicing for a concert’.

‘And it went well. He kept saying, “I’m Gary Barlow, I’m broken up.”

Janet is now speaking out to raise awareness of online scammers – and warn older people to be alert

During their initial conversations, the scammer also asked if Janet was a journalist

After a few days, Janet began to become suspicious and realized that the man she was talking to could not be the real Barlow.

“Gary Barlow wouldn’t want to talk to someone like me, he’s too famous,” she said. “I just thought, this isn’t Gary Barlow.”

“I kept saying, ‘You’re not the real deal!’ And he said, ‘You’re sweet, nice, yes, I’m Gary Barlow.’

Eventually, Janet managed to convince the scammer to reveal the truth by telling him he could get her WhatsApp number in exchange for his true identity.

She added: ‘He messaged me to say “look, I’m really sorry: I’m going to tell you the truth” and he told me his name.

‘He is very poor. He’s on WhatsApp and texts me: “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 eventually confessed his love for her.

Janet said: ‘He said, ‘I thought you could help me and my family, but it’s sad you can’t.’

“I asked him what he meant by that and he said, ‘some money to get some food in Nigeria.’

Janet said she is sharing this story to help others avoid such scammers in the future

After a few days, Janet began to become suspicious and realized that the man she was talking to could not be the real Barlow

The imposter said he was actually a 24-year-old man from Nigeria and that he regretted lying to the pizza restaurant worker from Colchester, Essex.

When Janet asked how much he needed, his response was, “I don’t have the power to tell you how much you’re going to give me, you only know in your heart.”

Janet told him she was ‘not in a position to do that’, but says the whole experience left her feeling ‘really guilty’.

Now Janet said she is sharing this story to help others avoid such scammers in the future.

She said: ‘There were twenty Tom Jones.

“And Michael Barrymore is coming. When they send a message, it’s similar.

“I think a lot of these foreign people do this because their country is poor, but people think they are real celebrities.”