A woman has spoken out after being scammed by someone who pretended to be a Stranger Things actor.
McKayla, an actor and filmmaker from Kentucky, met who she believed to be one of the Stranger Things stars online.
Taking part in YouTube series Catfished, McKayla explained she believed she met 28-year-old actor Dacre Montgomery - who plays the role of Billy in the hit Netflix series - on an online forum for creatives.
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McKayla explains she is 'obsessed with Stranger Things' and despite being 'suspicious from the get-go', the pair 'really hit it off'.
The person she was speaking to online also made her 'believe' they were really Montgomery, sending her poems similar to Montgomery's 2020 poetry collection DKMH: Poems and telling her Billy's character would return in season four's episode titled Dear Billy - McKayla seeing this an information only the actor could've known.
According to messages shared by McKayla, the person pretending to be Montgomery said he was still with his girlfriend, Liv, but they were 'thinking about breaking up'.
McKayla says 'Montgomery' 'vent[ed]' to her about his relationship, telling her his girlfriend was 'very controlling'.
McKayla's ex-husband had been 'very toxic' so she 'empathize[d]' with the online user, not questioning why she'd never called or met up with 'Montgomery' because of his girlfriend's 'controlling' nature.
And after a whole year of messaging, McKayla reveals the pair confessed they had feelings for one another and the online user 'indirectly' asked her out. 'Montgomery' also gave her an ultimatum: to choose her husband or him.
And McKayla chose the online user.
Then the online user began asking McKayla for money to help support them.
'Montgomery' said he needed money to be able to fully leave his relationship - the actor and Liv 'technically' together in the eyes of the public, but 'broken up' behind closed doors - the actor supposedly left unable to access the pair's joint bank account without arousing suspicion.
So, how much did McKayla send the online user?
Well, when McKayla 'tallies it up,' she sent a staggering $10,000 to the online user.
After sending the money, she began to grow suspicious and contacted Catfished to ask for their help in figuring out whether or not it was a scam.
She's now speaking out about her experience to raise awareness to other people who are more vulnerable to being scammed.
Kayla resolves: "If you're someone like me, you're afraid of abandonment and you're a real big people pleaser and you're very co-dependent. These scammers, they just kind of come in and they leech off that.
"It's a dopamine fix every time you wake up, every time you go to bed, several hours a day. It's a fix. It's a hit."
UNILAD has reached out to Montgomery's representatives for comment.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, you can contact Victim Support on 08 08 16 89 111, start a live chat, or visit the website, all of which are available 24 hours seven days a week.
Topics: Stranger Things, Celebrity, Film and TV, Sex and Relationships, Money
Poppy Bilderbeck