Kate Beckinsale has issued a stern warning to her fans about scammers impersonating her online to deceive and extort money from unsuspecting victims. The “Underworld” actress took to social media on Tuesday to expose a catfisher exploiting her identity to target vulnerable individuals, particularly elderly men.
Beckinsale shared alarming screenshots on Instagram, revealing messages from concerned family members. These messages detailed how their elderly fathers had fallen prey to the scammer. One message, sent to a friend of the actress, sought confirmation that Beckinsale was not romantically involved with the sender’s father in California. The message read, “If there is any way you can confirm that your friend Kate Beckinsale is not dating my elderly father in California, I will gladly donate to a charity of your choice.” The sender further disclosed that their father was convinced Beckinsale had proposed to him via text message.
Another message shared a similar distressing account, stating, “My elderly dad is being scammed out of lots of money by someone claiming to be you. If you read this, please send a message back to state you are not asking him for money as he does not believe his family.”
In her Instagram post, Beckinsale condemned the scammers for their deceitful actions. She wrote, “This is such a s—y horrible thing to do and it’s not the first time an elderly man has been scammed out of actually a lot of money — hundreds of thousands of dollars. Whoever is doing this is disgusting and evil.” She made it clear that any message claiming to be from her, asking for money, is a scam. Beckinsale emphasized, “any message pretending to be me is a scammer and I will never be dming anyone asking for money.”
Unfortunately, this is not the first time Beckinsale has had to deal with the consequences of scammers exploiting her identity. In 2021, the “Pearl Harbor” actress revealed that she was forced to relocate after multiple scam victims arrived at her doorstep. During the lockdown period, several men who had been catfished traveled from out of state to Los Angeles, believing they were in a relationship with her. These individuals had been provided with her home address and arrived at her doorstep late at night on separate occasions over several weeks.
The actress and her then-boyfriend were left terrified by the ordeal. The catfished men, humiliated and, in some cases, arrested, served as a stark reminder of how devious scammers can be. Beckinsale ultimately had no choice but to move to a new residence, as the culprits remained at large. In light of these distressing incidents, Beckinsale’s message to her followers is crystal clear: if you believe you are communicating with her online, you are being scammed.
The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center recently confirmed that elder fraud complaints increased by 14% last year, noting that scams targeting individuals aged 60 or older caused over $3.4 billion in losses in 2023 alone, with the average victim losing $33,915. Beckinsale shared a glimpse of just how manipulative these scammers are. One of the messages she shared on Instagram came from a concerned daughter who said her “elderly dad is being scammed out of lots of money” and “does not believe” he’s a victim.
Another message went as far as mentioning Beckinsale’s daughter, Lily Mo Sheen. “He is convinced that Kate proposed to him via text… and that she and Lily are coming out soon to pay him a visit,” another Instagram user said of their father. “The news article about the catfished stalkers that forced Kate to move homes didn’t help.”
Beckinsale was indeed forced to move after several catfish victims who thought she had invited them harassed her at home over the course of several weeks in 2021. The actor reportedly later explained that the deceived harassers thought they “were in some sort of relationship” with her. “My boyfriend at the time and I were completely freaked out, the catfished guys were humiliated and some of them arrested, the scammers weren’t caught and I ended up ultimately having to move house,” she wrote on Instagram in 2023, per The Independent.
“So long story short,” she concluded, “if you think I’m messaging you, it’s not me.”
