A 42-year-old married mother-of-two in Russia was conned out of just over $14678 after fraudsters impersonated Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth and led the woman to believe Hemsworth had fallen in love with her.
The real Chris Hemsworth, who plays Norse god Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is married and has a daughter and twin sons.
According to the local press in Siberia, the unnamed woman took a loan out for the hefty amount after exchanging messages with “Hemsworth,” in the belief that giving him the money would allow them to have an illicit romantic tryst.
The woman revealed that the fraudsters set up fake social media accounts impersonating Hemsworth and reached out to her, pretending to have fallen for her after seeing some photos she had posted of herself online.
The woman, who claimed that she was “very lonely” after her otherwise strong marriage was beset by “serious arguments,” believed who she thought was Hemsworth and began exchanging messages with her admirer.
She told the local press about her contentious marriage and recalled: “Our relations went quite sour, and just then the actor sent me a message on Twitter. I am not a fan, but he is still a very attractive man.
“I checked him online and saw that he was married and had three children. I thought, what if he was in the same situation as I was, that on the face of it we were both married and at the same time very lonely.”
As the messages grew more romantic, “Hemsworth” proposed a tryst in Australia before offering to visit Irkutsk where the woman lived. The local police reported:
“The woman said that she was separately contacted by the actor’s lawyer, who told her that ‘Chris’ was going through temporary financial difficulties. He needed money to pay for a visa, insurance and parking for his private jet in Siberia. The lawyer asked her to transfer money and sent her Chris’s driving license as a guarantee of a pay back.”
In love, the woman agreed and wired the money she received from a personal loan she took out to “Hemsworth’s lawyer”.
Once the woman sent the money, “Hemsworth” cut all contact with her. The Siberian Times reported that “his social media accounts were abruptly deleted.”
While the police are investigating the case and are trying to find the conmen, it remains unclear whether the woman’s husband is aware of the scandal.
Local police advised their residents: “We urge everyone not to stay in contact with strangers and not to send anything to people you are not familiar with.”