FRAUDSTERS used a fake Holly Willoughby to steal £370,000 in a Facebook scam – with countless other celeb names flogged.
The ITV presenter was falsely quoted on a Facebook ad which claimed both she and Philip Schofield had made a huge return on a £200 cryptocurrency investment.
The scammer convinced one victim to keep sending them money over a number of months, taking £370,000 from them in total, NatWest’s annual celebrity scam super league table revealed.
The face of money saving expert Martin Lewis was also used to con people out of cash, with one victim losing £317,000 after believing he was promoting a "Bitcoin evolution".
Other stars included Sun columnist Piers Morgan, Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden and billionaire Sir Richard Branson.
NatWest said fraudsters used Holly for their scams for her because she is trustworthy, with fans of This Morning likely to include pensioners ready to give away cash to invest.
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Last year, the mum's name was falsely used to scam more cash than any other celeb, with one swindler using her to con one victim out of £266,000.
This year, the biggest fraud was 40 per cent higher.
NatWest's Stuart Skinner, warned: “In knowing that criminals are exploiting the images of celebrities we can all take steps to protect ourselves.
"If you have seen an ad promising large profit, high rates of return or offering to help you invest in cryptocurrency, this is likely to be a scam – if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”
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There is no suggestion any of the celebrities are connected to the scams.
Crypto markets are highly volatile and prices can go down as well as up and in the blink of an eye.
You can lose all of you money and as it's unregulated, there's no one to complain to if things go wrong.
They can also be complicated and you shouldn't invest in products you don't understand.
You should also be wary of scams as cryptocurrencies aren't regulated in the UK.
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You can lose all your money investing in crypto and you're highly unlikely to get it back.
Recent plunges have also sparked fears about the long-term future of cryptocurrencies, and whether the market will ever recover.
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