Watch as Big Brother star Marisha Wallace fights back tears as she reveals she was scammed out of THOUSANDS
BIG Brother star Marisha Wallace fought back the tears on This Morning as she revealed that she had previously been scammed out of THOUSANDS of pounds.
The 38-year-old appeared on the ITV show today to try and raise awareness, as well as help others in the same situation as her.
Marisha opened up about what happened to presenters Craig Doyle and Sian Welby on the sofa.
The Celebrity Big Brother star explained that back in 2018 she had just moved to London from New York, and decided to go on a date with a guy she met on Bumble.
She went on a date with a guy that she met on Bumble and said he was “supportive” of the divorce she was going through at the time.
The topic of money came into conversation and sent her over details of an account manager that she could use to help her make money off of the money she has saved up.
Marisha had many calls with him and thought he worked for a reputable firm.
She originally put 24k in and was happy to see that she was getting money in return, and ended up with £60k in the account.
But one day she had a bad feeling about things, so while on set of Aladdin, so tried to get in contact with her account manager – and couldn’t get through.
Recalling the moment, Marisha said: “I was in the trailer getting ready, and I texted him on a win because I had a bad feeling.
“I texted him, nobody responded. I called, nobody respoinded.
“I kept calling and nobody responded.”
As she continued to tell the story she got visibly upset, but held back the tears as she said: “Then the runner came to get me out of my trailer and I was literally like in tears.
“I was crying, I was like ‘It’s a scam!’ I knew in that moment instantly that it was wrong.
“There was a feeling.”
She added: “You cant tell anyone…
“There’s so much shame and you don’t think it’s real, you don’t think that you’ve actually been scammed. how is this person that i think i know scammed me?”
The reality favourite revealed that she finally got back in contact with his friend and he told her that her account manager had just missed her call.
She told him that she wanted her money back, and had to “play it cool” for a few days despite knowing it was a scam.
Marisha researched the company that he worked for online and they told her that he wasn’t real.
She gathered recorded phone conversations, texts, all the information and the police said they couldn’t do anything.
At the end of the interview, the star said that she wants people to know that there is “hope” and they don’t have to “suffer alone”.
Marisha also confessed that she’s now been able to buy her mum the house that she saved up for.
How to protect yourself from fraud
USE the following tips to protect yourself from fraudsters.
- Keep your social media accounts private – Think twice before you your share details – in particular your full date of birth, address and contacts details – all of this information can be useful to fraudsters.
- Deactivate and delete old social media profiles – Keep track of your digital footprint. If a profile was created 10 years ago, there may be personal information currently available for a fraudster to use that you’re are not aware of or you have forgotten about.
- Password protect your devices– Keep passwords complex by picking three random words, such as roverducklemon and add or split them with symbols, numbers and capitals.
- Install anti-virus software on your laptop and personal devices and keep it up to date – This will make it harder for fraudsters to access your data in the first place.
- Take care on public Wi-Fi– Fraudsters can hack or mimic them. If you’re using one, avoid accessing sensitive apps, such as mobile banking.
- Think about your offline information too – Always redirect your post when you move home and make sure your letter or mailbox is secure.