https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-47969165A fraudster posing as Hollywood actor Jason Statham cheated a British woman out of hundreds of thousands using an online scam, the BBC has learned.
It comes as police warn such crimes are at "epidemic" levels, with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) receiving reports of about 1,000 victims a month.
Detectives fear the true figure may be up to 10 times higher as many fraud victims never come forward.
Det Con Craig Moylon said: "It's the volume crime of the 21st Century."
A recent estimate put the total lost to fraud each year in the UK at about £110bn.
One victim from the North West of England told BBC Radio Manchester she had lost a fortune after being targeted by a fraudster who has "just got no feelings at all".
The woman, who asked not to be named, said she was targeted at a vulnerable time following the deaths of both her mother and fiancé.
"I'm quite a strong person but obviously certain things get to you and you let your guard down," she said.
'Star-struck'
The woman said she was first contacted online by someone posing as Mr Statham while she was on a Facebook page dedicated to the Fast and Furious star.
"I thought 'Oh, that's nice of him, talking to his fans'. I might have been star-struck then, I don't know," she said.
The fraudster then encouraged her to use the encrypted WhatsApp service, sending her hundreds of messages over several months.