Kiwi actor Martin Henderson has spoken out after discovering his identity was used to scam an American woman out of $375,000.
'Lea' had reportedly spent two years in an online relationship with someone she believed was the 'Grey's Anatomy' star.
After posting on a fan page for Henderson’s Netflix show ‘Virgin River’, she received a message from someone claiming to be his agent, reaching out on his behalf.
Over time, Lea sent $30,000 for an alleged private jet, $10,000 to bail him out of jail and more - maxing out bank loans and credit cards.
In December last year, she moved to New Zealand for the person she thought was Henderson.
This was despite the Auckland-born star previously warning fans on Instagram about scammers impersonating him and urging followers to ignore fake profiles.
Lea said she was supposed to pick the star up from Auckland Airport on New Year’s Eve, but the scammer claimed he had been hospitalised while filming in South Africa.
The penny finally dropped when she read that Henderson had been spotted at a bike rally in Matakana that same day.
After being made aware of the scam, Henderson posted a video to social media saying: “I was dumbfounded, and then so sad.”
“It’s not a nice feeling to know someone has used your face and image and goodwill with fans and manipulated that relationship for something so sinister,” he added.
Henderson said he is working with IT specialists to remove fake accounts on social media but admitted, “they keep coming.”
