You never know who is behind the keyboard when you’re chatting online. Odds are that person you’re talking to isn’t Keanu Reeves.

The LA Times spoke to a woman named Molli Hermiston, whose aunt was victim of a scammer posing as the Matrix star. Her aunt didn’t want to tell her story, but it is one that needed to be shared.

Hermiston’s aunt was so invested in a scam that she was willing to sell her hold in Little Rock, Arkansas and move to LA with Reeves. The scammer sent her aunt a necklace and earrings, both of which she wears every day. The fake Reeves then asked the aunt for $10,000, but it’s unclear if the money was actually sent.

The thing is that Hermiston’s aunt really thought she was talking to Reeves. She didn’t question why a man wth a net worth of $360 million needed $10k, but she bought the scam.

Hermiston then revealed that she wanted to see how the scam worked, so she made her own fake Instagram account and used that burner to catfish in a fake Hardball star.

“Very quickly, five different people saying they’re Keanu Reeves approached me online. Due to my profession and career, I want this to be a secret between you and I.”

The fake Reeves then sent her “the sort of questions that reveal a person’s wealth and status, or that might come up as part of a bank’s security queries to confirm a customer’s identity.” She kept the conversation going for a couple of days, and then fake Reeves asked for a handout on Google hangouts. He wanted that payment in bitcoin.

There is a lot to be learned from this story. Keanu Reeves has his own verified accounts on social media and he doesn’t need your money.


H Jenkins


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