Photos of a real Danish sea captain were used by scammers to convince a Scottish pensioner to hand over more than £50,000.
Images of Thomas Lindegaard Madsen, 52, are believed to have been used to steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from lonely women across the world, including Australia and the USA.
The Danish sea captain was even forced to make a YouTube video warning women not to send money to men they met online.
It comes after Maureen Gunn, 66, stole around £15,000 from her mother Jean Marr after being scammed by a conman who promised her a new life after the pair met on Facebook.
Gunn sold his jewellery, a car and took out loans to send more than £50,000 to the man he claims is a 61-year-old UN Navy captain called Joshua Jacob.
Photo of Thomas Lindegaard Madsen is believed to have been used to scam lonely women around the world
Maureen Gunn, from Tranent, East Lothian, was convicted of stealing almost £15,000 from her elderly mother to send to romance fraudsters
Gunn, from Tranent, East Lothian, even cashed in some of his work pension to give to his online suitor after he claimed his funds were “tied up” in offshore accounts.
The doting pensioner pleaded guilty this week to embezzling £14,521.60 while acting as her mother's main carer between September 1, 2020 and July 31 last year, when she appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
This prompted a message from the real man, whose photo was used to romance Gunn.
Captain Madsen, who is openly gay, said: 'I'm amazed this is the latest thing, but remember, even if you fall in love with a photo or photo of someone, don't send money to people you've never sent money to. I met him personally.
'A real captain would never ask for money from you, captains themselves make a lot of money – they 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 money to anyone you haven't met in person.”
Gunn was led to believe she was in a relationship with the sea captain with manipulated images like this
Captain Madsen made a YouTube video warning people about the dangers of online romance fraud
The fraudster sent several photos claiming to be of him aboard his ship, including a mock image he said was taken at his mansion, showing a bedroom with large portraits of him and Gunn on the walls.
After being hooked by the romance scam, Gunn began stealing money from her own mother's bank account after being granted power of attorney for her welfare.
She made several cash withdrawals from her 89-year-old mother's account, as well as a £4,250 bank transfer, all of which was handed over to the online scammer.
The court heard that the pensioner “foolishly” sold her belongings to raise money to send to the con artist and has since been “ostracized by her family” after her crime was discovered.
Gunn told the Mail this week that the con man “took everything from me”.
She said: 'I was getting emails from about eight different people saying how sick he was and how he was going to die if I didn't help him, and how it was my fault he came.
Gunn's brother David Marr branded her a 'silly old woman' following her conviction at Edinburgh Sheriff Court
'They said he was in some hospital in London and as he wasn't a UK citizen he had to pay privately.'
At that point, she said, he robbed her of all her money and she began hacking into her mother's account.
She said: 'He promised me he would pay, and he never did. He was coming here, we would spend the rest of our lives together.
Gunn was confronted by angry family members outside the court building, including brother David Marr, who said the family was “destroyed” by his sister’s devious act.
Marr, 68, said: “She’s a silly old woman for believing this guy online. We all told her it was a scam but she continued to send him money.
'She really tore the family apart by what she did.'
Gunn escaped a prison sentence and was instead placed under a three-year supervision order and ordered to carry out 140 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to custody.
Sheriff John Cook said the crime was “a terrible breach of trust” and also imposed a compensation demand of £14,521.60, which will be paid at a rate of £150 per month.
