Overview

• A 76-year-old Belgian widower named Michel transferred €30,000 via WhatsApp after believing he was in a romantic relationship with someone impersonating Sophie Vouzelaud.
• Michel drove nearly 760 km to Vouzelaud’s Saint-Junien home, where her husband, Fabien, livestreamed the moment the retiree realized he had been deceived.
• Vouzelaud has been warning her followers since 2024 about recurring social media impersonations and never solicits money on her channels.
• In their in-person meeting, Vouzelaud walked Michel through how the fraud unfolded and urged him to preserve all evidence for a possible police complaint.
• The incident underscores how romance scammers exploit public figures’ identities and highlights the need for better digital literacy and platform oversight.