November 15th 2024.
Actor Alan Davies recently shared his experience of falling victim to online scams. The 58-year-old star of Jonathan Creek revealed that he has been scammed multiple times and lost a total of £400. One incident involved purchasing a PlayStation 5 that was never delivered, while another almost cost him £457 when he tried to buy a discontinued Lego set for his children's Christmas gifts.
During an interview on BBC Radio Four's The Infinite Monkey Cage, Davies was asked if he had ever been scammed before. He admitted that it happens to him "relentlessly," especially around Christmas time when he is trying to fulfill his children's gift requests. He also mentioned a past incident where he lost £400 when trying to buy a PlayStation 5.
But the comedian's experiences with online scams don't stop there. He also fell victim to a Bitcoin scammer who hacked his account on a popular social media platform. Davies explained that it was nearly impossible to get in touch with a real person to resolve the issue, as most companies have made it difficult to contact them directly.
He shared, "It's now become almost impossible to contact an actual human being with any company you're dealing with. My Twitter account was hacked by a Bitcoin scammer and I couldn't do anything about it." The hacker had gained access to his email and took control of his 800,000 followers. Davies, who is not a "big fish in the ocean," found his following helpful when promoting his tours or projects.
Despite his attempts to regain control of his account, the hacker continued to block his efforts by claiming that Davies was a bot. The frustrated star tried to prove his identity by telling them to "Google me," but even that did not work. He added, "At no point in that process could I communicate with a human being."
Unfortunately, Davies is not the only celebrity to have been targeted by scammers. Earlier this month, Coronation Street star Tony Maudsley shared his own experience of being conned out of £600 while trying to buy tickets to the much-awaited Oasis reunion tour. He had been in contact with someone on Facebook who appeared to have mutual friends, and even received messages from them claiming that the payment had not cleared. Luckily, his bank was able to stop the payment before he lost the money.
In a separate incident, BBC News legend Moira Stewart also fell victim to an elaborate bank scam. She shared her "anger" and warned others to be cautious, as scammers are coming up with new ways to trick people into giving away their personal information and money.
It's a reminder for all of us to be vigilant and careful when conducting transactions online, and to always double check the legitimacy of any offers or requests we receive. As Davies wisely advises, "What I do when I get the email I'm suspicious of is I have a look at the email address and it's normally something random and I think 'hang on a minute, that isn't Carphone Warehouse.'" It's better to be safe than sorry.
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