Actor Martin Henderson takes a break from filming to warn Kiwis about romance scams using his name. Video / Martin Henderson
Former Shortland Street star Martin Henderson has warned fans not to engage with anyone claiming to be him.
The warning comes after more women have come forward claiming they too have been conned in elaborate romance scams using Henderson’s profile.
One American woman lost $375,000 and moved to New Zealand, believing she was starting a family with the actor.
Kiwi actor Martin Henderson fears catfish-style scams using his likeness will become more elaborate with advances in deepfake technology.
Henderson has reissued a warning to fans stating he does not message people he doesn’t know after a Herald article revealed a woman lost $375,000 in a romance scam using the actor’s likeness.
The former Shortland Street star spoke on Radio New Zealand show Sunday Morning, telling host Jim Mora he was worried the scams would get worse.
“I’m worried there will be deepfakes of me sending personal messages with my voice, they just take a snippet from TV with my voice and throw it into a software programme and create whatever narrative they want,” Henderson said.
“You combine that with video and I worry how vulnerable many people will be.
Martin Henderson warned fans he would never contact anyone he didn't know through Telegram, email, or social media. Photo / Matt Klitscher, NZ Herald montage / Paul Slater
“My fear is that it will only get easier for these criminals.”
This weekend, four additional women revealed they too had been scammed, after the victims saw an article about an American fan of Virgin River who lost $375,000, thinking she was in a relationship with Henderson.
The woman, “Lea”, was in contact with the person she thought was Henderson for more than two years and moved to New Zealand to be with him – only to find the relationship was fake.
The article prompted Henderson to post a video through the Herald, asking fans to cease all contact with anyone claiming to be him.
One of the latest victims shares her Martin Henderson scam texts.
The video was seen by women in Britain, Ireland, and another in America, who admitted they too had fallen victim to someone pretending to be the actor.
One said her friend is a victim but still believes she is in a relationship with Henderson.
“I feel like such an idiot that I fell for this so it has been reassuring to know I am not the only one,” one of the victims said.
American woman "Lea" lost $375,000, believing she was in a relationship with New Zealand actor Martin Henderson. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Two women are now in contact and supporting each other as the scammers continue to contact them with more lies.
After the “romance scam” was up, both women were contacted by someone claiming to be a private investigator working for Henderson who wanted to help them recover their lost money.
This was also a scam, with Henderson confirming he had not asked any private investigators to contact the women.
Henderson said he had “done what he could” in the past to tell fans he would never contact anyone through WhatsApp, Telegram, or other apps.
He had posted two videos to his official Instagram page last year warning fans about the scams.
“I hate to think about how many hours I have spent fielding messages from people saying they’ve been approached,” he said.
“It was like a fulltime job but I do tell people I’m not involved with social media – partly because of these types of things.
“I took it upon myself to try and make it clear, I do not message anyone.”
Henderson told the Herald he was especially concerned for his fans after watching a documentary about elaborate celebrity scams.
“The way they operated was almost like a call centre where they find a personality they think will work and there is a whole bunch of scammers rotating on shifts and getting $10,000 here and there - it adds up.
“It makes me very concerned with what will happen in the future so I hope people cease all contact with these people.”
Kirsty Wynn is a senior journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Auckland newsrooms covering everything from crime and social issues to property and consumer affairs.
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