Yahoo Lifestyle Fan Moved to New Zealand After Scammer Posed as 'Virgin River' Star
A fan of Virgin River star Martin Henderson moved to New Zealand after being scammed by someone posing as the actor.
The woman, who goes by Lea, opened up about the experience to The New Zealand Herald and how she believed she was in a relationship with Henderson for two years.
Lea was in daily contact with a scammer posing as Henderson throughout the fictitious relationship, with the woman moving to New Zealand in December 2024 to supposedly get married to Henderson and start a life together.
"My head is all over the place and I felt very foolish having opened my heart," said Lea. "I was severely manipulated during some very traumatic events in my life.”
The scam started after Lea left a message on a fan page for Henderson's Netflix series Virgin River, after which someone posing as the actor's agent contacted her to say he "liked my comments and would like to message me."
"We hit it off immediately and talked about favourite foods and common interests," she recalled. Among other things, the woman started receiving AI voice calls from Henderson with supportive and loving messages.
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In March 2024, the real Henderson took to social media to warn his fans to be wary of people pretending to be him on the internet, saying, "This is my ONLY account. Please block and report anyone who claims to be me. I do not have any other account aside from this one @martinhendersonofficial please be careful. Love ya ♥️."
Although Lea saw this warning, the scammer reportedly told her the message was meant for other fans.
Lea and the person posing as Henderson were supposed to take their relationship to the next level when Lea moved to New Zealand to be with him, with the woman telling the publication, "He told me he wanted to leave the acting world and live a quiet life in New Zealand with me - we planned marriage and three children.”
The scammer told Lea they would fly to New Zealand at the end of January. However, the plans were allegedly delayed when they claimed to suffer a medical emergency in Johannesburg that left them bedridden.
Soon afterward, one of Lea's friends reportedly sent her a link to another New Zealand Herald article about Henderson participating in a cycling event in Matakana in New Zealand, looking fit and healthy. At this point, Lea finally realized things didn't add up and she had been scammed.
Along with the emotional turmoil of the experience, Lea also faced a major financial loss. Over the course of the relationship, she sent the scammer more than $375,000 in response to various requests.
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