A social media influencer said he stopped communicating with his followers after being conned into believing he was loyal fan.
Cosmin Cernica (28), a Chelsea resident, has over 100,000 Instagram followers and explained to me that he was conned into paying money by someone claiming to represent a woman in need of a kidney donation. Her insurance didn’t cover the cost.
According to the social media expert, the woman claimed she is based in America and had been following him for some time. She made comments on things that he posted on Instagram.
He told My London that he was further convinced to help the woman because they had a video call, however he was left feeling ‘humiliated’ when she deleted her profile moments after he sent her £2,000.

Cosmin Cernica, 28, (pictured) who lives in Chelsea, claims an individual lied about needing money for medical expenses to scam him out of £2,000
Cosmin thought that he sent the money through ‘diligent checks’ but he actually spoke to Cosmin over the course of a single evening.
The scammer was described as ‘genuine’ by him when she stated that she wanted money to pay for the treatment of her one remaining kidney, which she suffered from an accident several years ago.
Cosmin explained that they had called on Instagram. She showed me documents from doctors and insurance but I was unable to see them clearly.
She didn’t upload many photos to her profile but it was clear that she was the exact same person.
“She claimed she lived with her mom, and her mother desperately trying to raise money. She showed me a photo of their charity run.

Cosmin (pictured), claimed that the woman pretended she was a faithful Instagram follower and agreed to a video chat before the money transfer.
Cosmin acknowledged that he was worried when Cosmin’s name for the money transfer didn’t match the one on her Instagram account. However, she assured him that the account belonged her mother.
However, when the social media expert later went to message to check if she had received the money her Instagram account had ‘vanished’ and he later realised all of the things she had pretended know from following his page, had been taken from posts currently visible on the highlights section of his profile.
Although he had previously told his friend about the financial plea of the woman, he is grateful that they did not fall for it.
Cosmin said that the encounter with the conman has made him afraid and that he won’t respond to any direct messages. He will instead donate to charities or people he personally knows.
“It was a clever game on her part. Their side. It’s not clear if there are more or less people involved,’ he said.

Cosmin (pictured below) claimed the woman’s Instagram account vanished when he tried reaching her to find out if she had received the transfer.