Middle-aged man in North Olmsted, Ohio defrauded of $2,000 via Telegram by scammer posing as Reese Witherspoon in 2024

Summary

A man in North Olmsted, Ohio, was defrauded of $2,000 by a fraudster posing as actress Reese Witherspoon through social media. The victim communicated with the scammer on the Telegram platform for about two years, believing he was interacting with the real actress. In February 2024, the fraudster convinced him to purchase Apple gift cards totaling $700, and later he sent an additional $1,300 in gift cards directly to the scammer. The victim believed the payments granted him one-on-one video chats with “Reese Witherspoon,” which an officer later identified as AI-generated. An officer advised the man to contact his credit card company and warned him against sending money to strangers online. The victim had recently received a new credit card due to unrelated fraudulent activity.