Amanda Holden has revealed that scammers impersonated her in a “romance fraud”, exploiting her name and image to defraud a vulnerable man of thousands of pounds.
The television personality is set to appear in a special episode of the BBC’s Scam Interceptors, aiming to shed light on such deceptive practices.
The elaborate scheme saw con artists attempting to convince the man to sell his home under the false premise that he would then live with Holden.
His relatives contacted the police to ask for help because they were so worried, the Britain’s Got Talent presenter said.
The man believed that “the proceeds of the sale were then going to come to me and we were going to live together”, she said.
“Obviously, this was never going to happen. The first I heard about it all was from the police. The scammers were going to pocket all his money.”
Holden said she found the situation “shocking”, adding that she “felt personally responsible for his wellbeing, so tried to help the police in every way I could”.
She added: “Brilliantly, he saw sense just in the nick of time and did not sell his home.
“He realised that there was no relationship with me directly.
“It made me realise that my profile is out there being used for all sorts of bad reasons, so I thought if I can use my profile for good, and draw attention to the week of scam programming, then that could only be a positive thing.”
The special episode, which will be shown as part of BBC Scam Safe Week, will see the team use the same remote access technology that scammers rely on to “hack the hackers”.
They will monitor their operations in real time before confronting them and stopping scams before they happen.
Holden said she got to meet “Scamanda”, one of the scammers pretending to be her, and “gave them what for”.
She added: “I can’t stand injustice.
“My family and friends say I’m always ready to fight a cause or someone’s corner, so I thought this was something I would be quite passionate about, having had some recent first-hand experience.
“I’m thrilled to be part of Scam Interceptors – seeing all the drama unfold as it happens? Yes please! Scammers, consider this your warning – Amanda’s watching.”
Holden said it was “mind-blowing” seeing how quickly money can be stolen from people’s accounts.
“I just wanted to stop them or scream at the individuals that they were being scammed. I realised that every minute counts and every small win is a big win.”
She advised people to never answer the phone to a number they do not recognise or to withheld numbers.
“Never, ever give out bank details, pin numbers or transfer money is what I say. Hang up and call into your local bank branch or call their official number on the back of your bank card.”
Viewers can watch Celebrity Scam Interceptors from 2pm on Monday on BBC One and iPlayer.
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