A YOUNG mum has been conned out of more than £1,200 by a cruel trickster posing on social media as one of her idols.

Megan Riley has long been a huge fan of local comedy songwriter Dave Cherry, and the two featured in the Chronicle earlier this year when she wrote some new lyrics to his hit song Stairfoot Roundabout which referenced the new traffic lights at Cundy Cross.

They kept in touch, and last week Megan received a message through Facebook from Dave asking for a favour but unbeknown to Megan, Dave’s Facebook account had been hacked. Megan has ended up being out of pocket by £1,266 after thinking she was simply helping her friend receive an online payment.

“I honestly don’t know how I’m going to get through the month,” said Megan, 25, of Wombwell Lane, Stairfoot, who has a son aged six and a daughter aged three.

“It’s like losing an entire month’s wage in one go. It’s gone and I’ve just got to accept it, but I honestly don’t know how we’re going to get through. I’m just devastated.”

The scam involved online payment company PayPal, often used to pay for items on auction site eBay, with the message supposedly from Dave saying his account had been limited and he needed to receive payment for something he’d sold online.

“To be totally honest I’d been at work all day, a long shift, and I was tired and I didn’t even think twice about it,” said Megan.

The scammers managed to trick Megan into believing the funds had been transferred to her in two transactions, after which she transferred the same amounts to bank details provided in the message. The message also explained that Dave’s ‘phone was broken’ which was the reason he was having to sort out the mess through Facebook messages.

“It’s not like I was really lending money,” said Megan. “It wouldn’t have mattered if it was £50 of £5,000. The money was coming in, I was transferring the same out. It’s happened to me before where my PayPal has been limited, so it seemed normal.”

She said the money was ‘there’ in her PayPal account, but was somehow retrieved, and because she made the transfer voluntarily, has been told by both PayPal and her own bank that the money cannot be reimbursed.

It is now being investigated by the police and ActionFraud, the national fraud and cyber crime investigation centre. Megan and partner Stuart are getting married next year.

Dave has already promised to video the wedding for them free of charge. He’s also looking into other ways to help.

“I am absolutely disgusted that someone has used my good name in scamming a young lass with two kids who’s saving to get married,” said Dave, 72, of Saxon Crescent, Worsbrough Bridge. “It makes me feel sick.”

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: “While the police will arrest and prosecute anyone identified as being involved in fraud, Action Fraud, the fraud and cyber-crime reporting centre for the country, is responsible for collating frauds and as such, anyone who believes they are a victim is advised to contact them immediately.

“When a suspect is identified, the investigation is transferred to the local force to arrest and prosecute which is why it’s imperative that all incidents are reported to them.”