‘You’re beautiful’ - How a Jason Momoa impostor is targeting lonely Irish women
A sick romance scammer impersonating Hollywood heartthrob Jason Momoa is targeting lonely Irish fans online.The twisted fraudster is using Facebook fan pages to target vulnerable followers - duping them into believing they are in a secret relationship with the Game of Thrones star.We can reveal that the swindler is one of thousands of scammers who are making millions from unlucky-in-love Irish people each year.Posting a message to a popular fan page, the Momoa impersonator pleads: “Please, when you see this, don’t leave me waiting. I really need to hear from you right now.”“Just a simple ‘hi’ from you, that alone would calm my heart.”He ends the message by including a link where his ‘love interest’ can get in touch with him ‘directly’.A screenshot of the Facebook page With a simple click of a button we are pulled straight into a Telegram chat – a private encrypted messaging app - where the person claiming to be the Aquaman star wastes no time in asserting his true identity.“I know you would be so amazed and shocked texting me, as I am so down to earth,” we are told.This isn’t the first time con-artists have used the Hollywood hardman’s image to fleece victims.Headlines erupted when a British widow was conned out of Stg£500,000 late last year, after fraudsters posing as the actor used fake AI-generated videos and messages to reel her in.Weekly Crime Wrap (April 20) In a bizarre twist, the swindler acknowledges the surge in scammers exploiting the star’s image and even claims he is actively tracking down rival fraudsters himself. Within minutes of our conversation, he starts firing over random images of people in handcuffs.“Here are some photos of those imposters that has been arrested,” he says.Moments later, the scammer then entrusts us with a ‘secret code’ to elicit intimacy and trust.“I will be giving you a secret code between us, don’t share it with anyone.”After an attempt at small talk, the fake star begins fishing for personal information and photos.Asking: “What do you have planned for the today? he reminds us to take time for ourselves because we ‘deserve’ it.When we send a photo he quickly responds: “You look absolutely beautiful. There’s something about your smile, it’s so soft and cute, it just stays on my mind. I’ll be thinking about you.”When our reporter requests a photo, he sends a topless image of the real actor and claims he’s messaging from Hawaii.A photo sent to our reporter Later that night when we fail to respond to a Telegram message, a separate fan account sends direct messages to our reporter on Facebook.It is a well-versed script that has already cost victims millions of euro.One grieving widow in the UK handed over Stg£500,000 after being convinced she was in love with the star. She had followed a fan page after losing her husband of 50 years and was stunned when “Momoa” messaged her.Devastatingly, another woman in Newcastle lost Stg£80,000 after being drawn into the same fantasy, complete with fake lawyers and bank officials.Messages exchanged on the app Jason Momoa has repeatedly warned fans he is not on Facebook and only uses verified social media accounts. The actor has also explicitly warned fans that he will never contact them privately to ask for money, donations, or personal information.Other A-listers including Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Taylor Swift have also had their identities hijacked by scammers, along with stars like Gary Barlow.Read moreIrish OCD advocate on how condition made her fear she was a criminal who would stab love onesRead moreFeeding your ex rat faeces - Inside the world of twisted Facebook revenge groupsDespite widespread media coverage, romance scams are a growing problem and have cost Irish people more than €7 million in reported losses over the five years leading up to early 2025, according to An Garda Síochána. Sadly, many victims are too embarrassed to come forward to report the crime.Officials say the criminals behind these schemes are highly organised and ruthless in their objective to extort money from vulnerable people.The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission says fraudsters often come on strong and move fast.“They may invest quite a bit of time building the relationship and connection to earn your trust,” a spokesperson said.An Garda Síochana continues to advise the public to beware of romance frauds and criminals who are taking advantage of an increase in the popularity of dating apps.Speaking on Crimecall, Detective Sergeant Niall Smith explained that romance scams are not just a sinister attack on an individual, they also prop up international crime groups. “It is often the case that a victim’s money is transferred overseas to fund organised criminal activities such as terrorism, human trafficking, people smuggling and even corruption. An Garda Síochána work closely with both Europol and Interpol to disrupt those involved in fraud of this nature as part of our investigations into romance frauds.”Niall explained that crimes of this nature tend to be highly lucrative for organised crime groups and prove difficult for victims to recover their money.Of the victims that have come forward to An Garda Síochána since 2020, the majority were female and their average financial loss was approximately €30,000.The highest reported loss by a female in Ireland was over €450,000 stolen in 18 transactions, while one male victim had more than €380,000 taken.
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