Crime & Safety

Newtown Resident Scammed By Celebrity Impostor On Instagram

The 'celebrity' told her if she sent three blanks checks to an address provided, a private jet would come to pick her up.

Newtown police reported a recent scam involving a celebrity impostor.
Newtown police reported a recent scam involving a celebrity impostor. (David Allen/Patch)

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — Newtown Township Police are investigating after a local resident reported being scammed out of thousands of dollars by a celebrity impostor on Instagram

The resident reported "she was led to believe" that she was talking to a celebrity actor on Instagram. She sent the "actor" $1,200 in gift cards as well as $800 of Bitcoin currency.

The “actor” then sent a book of checks to the resident's residence and asked her to fill out the top check for $78,000, police said. She was also asked to send three blank checks to addresses that were provided to her.

Find out what's happening in Newtownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The impostor told her if she sent the checks, a private jet would come to pick her up.

The complainant began to suspect fraud when she discovered that her Google account was altered without her permission by someone with an IP address linked to Nigeria, police said.

Find out what's happening in Newtownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

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