A scammer has reportedly been using the identity of actor Sam Heughan to con Outlander fans out of their life savings.
Without his knowledge, the Scottish actor – who plays Jamie Fraser in Starz’s historical drama series – had his name used by fraudsters to trick fans into handing over large amounts of money.
As reported by The Daily Record, one woman from New York was duped into sending £34,000 after being told that the money would be invested in Heughan’s whisky brand.
She said that she spoke to the scammer on Google Hangouts and even video called him, although admitted that the call only “lasted seconds”.
“There was so much light in the background, it was hard to tell anything at all,” she told the publication.
Another victim was a 56-year-old nurse from Florida, who gave over £36,500 to the scammer after believing that she had been in a relationship with Heughan since 2018.
This included £7,000 for the delivery of a surprise present the scammer claimed to have sent her and another £7,000 to allegedly help his lawyer sue the company for withholding the gift.
She told The Daily Record: “The Sam I was speaking to started using the screen name Sammy Roland alongside a picture of Sam on his profile.
“Roland is Sam’s middle name and he said he was using that name because he didn’t want anyone to know it was the real Sam.”
It is not known whether both women were tricked by the same person.
The Independent has contacted Heughan’s representatives for comment.
