"I was catfished by fake Gary Barlow - he said he loved me and begged for money"

A woman has revealed how she was targeted by a scammer pretending to be Take That singer Gary Barlow.

Janet Smith, 62, believed she was talking to the celebrity on Facebook after she added him as a friend in March. Janet says she was bombarded with messages and compliments from the account.

After a few days, Janet grew suspicious and persuaded the scammer to reveal their true identity by offering her WhatsApp number in exchange. The scammer told Janet he was a 24-year-old man from Nigeria and apologised for lying to her.

Janet, from Colchester, Essex, said: “The words were really posh - ‘I’m in a meeting now’ and ‘I’m practising for a concert. And it was going well.

“Elderly people are going to be adding these 'celebrities'. They’re going to be conning these old people. I understand that they are poor and they have to get money for their family, but people might lose a lot of money over this.”

Watch the video above to listen to Janet talk about her experience.