Katie Price fans have been conned out of thousands of pounds after the former glamour model promoted a rogue trader on Instagram.
THe 43-year-old star was paid to promote currency “whiz” Josh Chandler to her 2.6 million followers.
One fan, Kate Dalrymple, 40, a nurse from Newcastle upon Tyne, says Katie should pay back £825 that she lost on the scam.
“Josh” guaranteed her £1,250 if she transferred £100, which she did.
She was then told to pay a “release fee” of £725 and told she’d get over £4,000, leading her to lose almost all her £1,140-a-month salary.
She has reported the scam to Action Fraud and discovered that at least five others were conned.
Katie’s team said the TV personality had no idea that it had been a scam and that she was “devastated”.
(Image: Instagram)
Her spokeswoman said: “Katie would never knowingly engage in a social media endorsement if it were questionable. This recent information has left her devastated.
“It’s not only her loyal supporters and fans who have been deceived but she, herself, is a victim of a professional organisation.
“Katie is not the only celebrity to have been targeted.”
Kate told The Sun: “I feel so stupid. But I was always a fan of Katie’s. I thought she was a good mother and related to her.
“I used to defend her when she’d get stick, and couldn’t understand all the bad publicity she got. Now I feel so let down and embarrassed. How could she put her name to this?
(Image: Getty Images/Westend61)
She went on: “My bank, Lloyds, even called me to flag that it looked like fraudulent activity but, again, because Katie Price had endorsed it, I told them it was genuine.
“I messaged Katie once I realised what had happened but she didn’t reply. I’m devastated — and disgusted by her behaviour.”
At least twice, Katie used her Instagram Stories to promote “Josh”, urging others to invest in him to make a “safe income”.
She is believed to have been paid around £3,000 per post she made.
In a post last month Katie said: “Hey guys, so I want to tell you about a friend of mine called Josh.
(Image: Katie Price/Instagram)
“He’s amazing at what he does. And you may have heard about him or seen him on other media sites, if you’re interested in securing a new, safe income . . . ”
Despite this glowing recommendation, neither “Josh” nor Katie follow each other on social media.
Lloyds are currently investigating but do not think they will be able to retrieve Kate’s £825.
Kate only just stopped short of paying another £1,400 to the scammer.
In an initial exchange of messages, she was asked to give her bank details, birthdate and copy of her driving licence to open an account on crypto.com.
At one point, in messages seen by The Sun, Kate asked “Josh” to promise this wasn’t a scam, adding “because I will die otherwise”.
He replies: “Katie Price does not promote fraud.”
He repeatedly reassured her of the legitimacy of the scam and then turned nasty when Kate demanded to know where her money was.
After calling her on Instagram, he issued her with a vile threat to her son, before messaging her: “Clearly u deserve to be scammed you racist motherf****r”. Kate has now blocked the account.
Six months ago Katie endorsed another unauthorised FX trader, XChloesWorld.
After fans complained online, financial authorities requested the removal of the account.
The Financial Conduct Authority said: “Consumers can protect themselves by checking the FCA Register on our website to see if firms are authorised and by rejecting unexpected offers that sound too good to be true.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
