Kate Beckinsale exposes 'evil' catfish who used her name to scam an elderly man out of 'thousands of dollars'

“Whoever is doing this is disgusting and evil,” Beckinsale wrote on Instagram.

Beware of mysterious DMs asking for money — especially if they come from Kate Beckinsale.

On Tuesday, the Serendipity star used social media to warn fans of an alleged catfisher using her name and likeness to scam vulnerable victims out of money. Two screenshots shared by the actress show concerned family members claiming their parents have been targeted by a scammer who requested money posing as Beckinsale.

"If there is any way you can confirm that your friend Kate Beckinsale is not dating my elderly father in California, I will gladly donate to a charity of your choice," one message read, adding that the man was "convinced" that Beckinsale had proposed to him via text.

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“My elderly dad is being scammed out of lots of money by someone claiming to be you,” the second message claimed. “If you read this, please send a message back to state you are not asking him for money as he does not believe his family.”

Beckinsale captioned her Instagram post by condemning the scammer and cautioning fans to be on the lookout for catfish messages.

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"This is such a s---ty horrible thing to do and it’s not the first time an elderly man has been scammed out of actually a lot of money - hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Beckinsale wrote. “Whoever is doing this is disgusting and evil.”

She added that her post should serve as blanket confirmation that “any message pretending to me is a scammer and I will never be dming anyone asking for money.”

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Beckinsale has dealt with the repercussions of catfish scammers using her name. Per The Independent, the Total Recall actress previously said she was forced to move in 2021 after several scam victims knocked on her door.

"During lockdown, several men had been catfished to the degree that they flew to Los Angeles from out of state, had been given my home address, and arrived on my doorstep late at night (on different nights, over a couple of week period) thinking we were in some sort of relationship,” she wrote in a since-deleted 2023 Instagram post. “My boyfriend at the time and I were completely freaked out, the catfished guys were humiliated and some of them arrested, the scammers weren’t caught and I ended up ultimately having to move house.”

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She added, “So long story short, if you think I’m messaging you, it’s not me.”

A representative for Beckinsale did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly’s request for comment.

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