Fraudsters used photos of a real Danish sea captain to trick a Scottish pensioner into handing over more than £50,000.
Images of Thomas Lindegaard Madsen, 52, are believed to have been used to scam hundreds of thousands of pounds from single women around the world, including in Australia and the US.
A Danish sea captain was even forced to submit a YouTube video warning women not to send any money to men they met online.
It happened after Maureen Gunn, 66, stole almost £15,000 from her mother Jean Marr after she was duped by a fraudster who promised her a new life after the pair met on Facebook.
Gunn sold her jewellery, car and took out loans to send more than £50,000 to a man claiming to be 61-year-old UN naval captain Joshua Jacob.
Thomas Lindegaard Madsen's photo is believed to have been used to scam single women around the world
Maureen Gunn, from Tranent, East Lothian, was jailed for stealing almost £15,000 from her elderly mother to send to romance scammers
Gunn, of Tranent, East Lothian, even cashed in part of her workplace pension to give to an online competitor after he claimed his funds were “stuck” in overseas accounts.
The doting pensioner pleaded guilty this week to embezzling £14,521.60 while acting as her mother's primary carer between September 1, 2020 and July 31 last year, when she appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
This resulted in a message from the real man whose photo was used to romance Gunn.
Captain Madsen, who is openly gay, said: “I'm just flabbergasted that this is the latest thing, but remember that even if you fall in love with a photo or painting of anyone, don't send any money to people you've never met in person.”
“A real captain would never ask you for money, captains make a lot of money themselves and don't need to ask women for money.
– And if a man really loves you, whether he's a captain or not, he'll never ask you to send him money.
“So please, please open your eyes and don't believe everything you see on the internet.
“At least don't send any money to anyone you haven't met in person.”
Gunn was fooled into believing she was in a relationship with the ship's captain using such manipulated photos
Captain Madsen has made a YouTube video warning people about the dangers of online romance scams
The scammer sent various photos purporting to show him aboard the ship, including one mocked photo he said was taken at his residence, showing a bedroom with large portraits of him and Gunn on the walls.
After becoming involved in an affair scam, Gunn began stealing money from her mother's bank account after obtaining power of attorney for her mother's welfare.
She made numerous cash withdrawals from her 89-year-old mother's account and also made a bank transfer of £4,250, which she handed over to an online fraudster.
A court heard from a pensioner who “foolishly” sold her belongings to raise cash to send to a fraudster, only to be “rejected by her family” after her crime was discovered.
This week Gunn told the Mail that the fraudster had “taken everything from me”.
She said: “I received emails from about eight different people telling me how sick he was and how he was going to die if I didn't help him and that it was my fault he came.
Gunn's brother David Marr called her a “silly old woman” after her sentencing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
“They said he was in some hospital in London and because he wasn't a British citizen he had to pay privately.”
At that point, she said, he had cheated her out of all her money, and she began hacking into her mother's account.
She said: “He promised me he would pay me back but he never did. He was coming here and we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.
Outside the courthouse, Gunn was confronted by furious family members, including brother David Marr, who said the family had been “broken” by his sister's devious act.
Marr, 68, said: “She's a stupid old woman because she believed this guy on the internet. We all told her it was a scam but she continued to send him money.
“What she did really tore the family apart.”
Gunn managed to avoid a prison sentence and was instead given a three-year supervision order and ordered to complete 140 hours of unpaid work in lieu of custody.
Sheriff John Cook said the offense amounted to an “appalling breach of trust” and also imposed a compensation requirement of £14,521.60, to be paid at the rate of £150 per month.
