It’s the kind of digital horror story that’s becoming all too common when a fan contacts what they believe is a celebrity‘s social media page, just to get scammed out of their hard-earned money. But in the case of one Miami woman who was a victim of just that, the real celebrity got wind of the scam and helped make things right.
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Denise Kinsler, a part-time screenwriter, runs A Leap of Faith Foundation, a 20-year charity that raises awareness around challenges with cancer, HIV, nutrition and social justice through plays she writes, CBS News reported.
Struggling to secure donors, Kinsler contacted an unverified TikTok page she believed belonged to comedian and radio host Rickey Smiley.
Whoever was behind the fake page offered to help Kinsler with a small business loan, event sponsorship and school tuition support. To make things even sweeter, the person claiming to be Smiley also offered a VIP trip to Dallas with paid-for roundtrip airfare and a free hotel stay to discuss her endeavors in person.
Kinsler said she was convinced she was really speaking to Smiley because the account had sent her videos of him, confirming the offer was legitimate.
However, there was one catch.
Before jet-setting off to Texas to meet the “First Sunday” actor, she had to send $1,200 via Cash App. “I figured what I’m gonna lose if I spend a couple dollars that can help me to make millions. Why not take that risk?,” she told CBS News Miami.
Upon sending the cash, she was instructed not to tell anyone, including her husband. “I never had a famous person that’s going to give something, so I trusted him,” Kinsler said.
After she sent money via the third-party app to accounts not listed under Smiley’s name, her promised trip to Dallas never happened. “I’m like, ‘Damn, oh my God.’ I want to take the law into my own hands and find this person because you’re preying on people’s vulnerabilities,” Kinsler said in early March.
She complained to Miami police and contacted radio station Hot 105 about what happened. Then, something heartwarming happened one week later.
HOT 105 brought Smiley to their building for a fan meet-and-eat, and the station’s program director made Kinsler and her family special guests. She managed to meet Smiley in person, whom she said was happy to meet her. “I was excited,” Kinsler said. “I was grateful.”
Smiley addressed the scam, telling CBS News how, “Unfortunately, that’s been going on all over the country. It’s fake Rickey Smiley Facebook pages. Fake this and that, taking advantage of people. People who are within a certain demographic need to get with their grandkids and understand what catfish and scammers are. It’s a lot of scammers. Some people just need to be careful.”
While the meeting provided a much-needed silver lining, the shadow of the crime remains. Miami police are still hunting for the culprit behind the $1,200 scam, and Kinsler still hasn’t recovered the money.
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