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

A woman has revealed how she was catfished by a man pretending to be Gary Barlow - who turned out to be a scammer attempting to take her money.

Janet Smith, 62, from Colchester, Essex, genuinely believed she was talking to the Take That singer for about a week, after she added him as a friend on Facebook. 

The fake Barlow bombarded her with compliments and messages and said he had 'split up' - which Janet took to mean from his wife.

She believed she'd added the popstar last month, and was talking to him all week - sometimes from 9am all the way through to 3am the following morning.

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

The scammer would break up discussions, however, by claiming to be in a meeting and to be practicing for a concert. 

When he started to ask for money after a few days, Janet, who works in a pizza restaurant, started to get suspicious and realised the man she was speaking to couldn't be the real Barlow. 

Janet Smith, 62, genuinely believed she was talking to the Take That singer for about a week, after she added him as a friend on Facebook  

The fake Gary bombarded her with compliments and messages and said he had 'split up' - which Janet took to mean from his wife

Screenshots show how the scammer told Janet 'my heart chooses you' and asked her to keep a secret 

The scammer insisted Janet would 'know me very well' but claimed his management was monitoring him 

Initially, Janet believed that she had added the real Gary Barlow (pictured in January 2024) on Facebook in March this year 

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

She said: 'It's so sad because he's been saying to me 'I love you'.

'I said "I am 62 - you're 24". I'm saddened because he is poor and he's got no money.

'For the last week, he's been constantly texting me, asking me where I am. He was texting me from 9am to 3am.'

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

'Elderly people are going to be adding these 'celebrities'. They're going to be conning these old people,' she said.

'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. It's also giving celebrities a bad name.'

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

'I was talking to him all week and he was saying to me, "I'm busy, I've got a lot of schedules"', she said.

'He was kind. He was nice. He was really lovely, saying, "Good morning. Good evening, I've seen your videos" because I love to dance.

'The words were really posh - "I'm in a meeting now" and "I'm practicing for a concert".

'And it was going well. He just kept saying "I'm Gary Barlow, I've split up."

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

The scammer also asked if Janet was a journalist during their initial conversations 

After a few days, Janet started to get suspicious and realised the man she was speaking to couldn't be the real Barlow.

'Gary Barlow would not talk to somebody like me, he's too famous,' she said.. 'I just thought, this isn't Gary Barlow.'

'I kept saying, "you're not the real one!" And he was saying, "You're lovely, you're kind, yes, I am Gary Barlow."'

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

She added: 'He sent me a message 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 he's texting me saying, "I'm sorry, I've done fraud but we come from a poor family." I do admire Gary Barlow, I like singing and I like his songs.'

The man eventually confessed his love for her.

Janet said: 'He said, "I thought you would be able to help me and my family but it's sad that you can't."

'I asked him what he meant by that and he said "some money to get some food in Nigeria."'

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

After a few days, Janet started to get suspicious and realised the man she was speaking to couldn't be the real Barlow

The cheat said he was actually a 24-year-old man from Nigeria and was sorry for 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 will give me, only you know in your heart.'

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

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

She said: 'There were 20 Tom Jones. 

'And Michael Barrymore has been coming up. When they send a message, it's similar.

'I think a lot of these foreign people are doing this because their countries are poor, but people think they're real celebrities.'