“I didn’t want to see the red flags.” Local Broker Helps Spokane’s Widower Avoid Fake Swiss Pop Star Scam | Messages

SPOKANE, Washington – This is why the TV show Catfish was born – someone who pretends to be what they are not. In this case, someone posing as a Swiss pop star extorted thousands of dollars from a Spokane widower over the course of a year.

“In my heart I know it’s real, but now the time has come that I want to find out,” said David, the widower.

After communicating on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Google Hangouts for almost a year, David thought he was going to fall in love with Swiss pop star Beatrice Egli. And worse, he thought she was going to fall in love with him.

It started quite harmlessly. The pop star asked him about gift cards, the value of which started. When “she” knew he was going to pay, she began to raise the bet.

“She went on, ‘Please dear, I need you badly to get me a $ 5,000 gift certificate after work today.’” Finally, she took him on a trip, courtesy of her Lear Jet. He packed his things, drove to the airport and … waited. He waited for hours and when she didn’t show up he went home.

He says she told him some things came up and she couldn’t make that flight but wanted to see him anyway. He made extensive plans to sell his house, all of his belongings – even his dog. It probably would have happened too if it hadn’t been for his real estate agent.

“Whoever was on the other line asked him to do it, you know, suddenly the money wouldn’t be in his name. It had to be in another name. We have taken the house off the market. “

Shannon Bragg says she tried to explain to David what was going on but he didn’t believe her. So she called KHQ.

Alex Peebles from KHQ sat down with David for over an hour and explained how he was being exploited. He showed David pictures that were supposedly sent only to him and that were easy to find on Google. David agreed it wasn’t true, even though he so desperately hoped it was.

We contacted pop star Beatrice Egli who is a real person. We sent a message to your team that their image is being used to cheat people. At this point we haven’t heard anything.

And David? He says he is ready to move forward and leave this chapter behind.

Please remind loved ones that this type of terrible behavior exists online. According to a survey, one in three people was fished for catfish online and 20% of these victims sent money to the scammer.