From Starstruck to Stranded: California Woman Scammed by Fake ‘Keanu Reeves,’ Now Living in Her Car

Katherine Goodson, a 67-year-old woman now living in her car in Vista is the latest victim of a celebrity romance scam, as the number of those is on the rise globally.

Katherine shared her story with NBC 7, explaining how she sent thousands of dollars to scammers pretending to be actor Keanu Reeves. She hopes her experience will help others avoid the same mistake.

Romance scams like this one are happening all over the country. Scammers often pose as celebrities like Keanu Reeves because of their popularity. Reeves’ representatives have previously confirmed he doesn’t have any social media accounts.

Romance scams are more common than many people think. According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, $1.1 billion was lost to romance scams in the U.S. in 2023. In San Diego County alone, victims lost $1.3 million. Katherine admitted she wasn’t aware of all the warning signs: “Unfortunately, I wasn’t maybe listening to the warning signs,” she said.

Katherine’s ordeal began in 2022 when she connected online with someone pretending to be Keanu Reeves. The scammer asked her to send a $500 gift card to prove she wasn’t only interested in his fame or money. She sent the card but grew suspicious and asked to hear his voice. When she did, she realized it wasn’t Reeves and blocked him.

Later, she posted a warning on social media about the scam. That’s when she received a message from someone claiming to be the “real” Reeves, apologizing for what had happened. They began messaging, and Katherine said they fell in love. “He wanted to marry me,” she shared.

Over two years, Katherine sent tens of thousands of dollars to scammers through Bitcoin, gift cards, and wire transfers. She admitted loneliness played a major role in her decisions, as the scammers gave convincing excuses for needing money and avoiding in-person meetings. Reflecting on the experience, Katherine described it as overwhelming and deeply confusing.

Scammers use emotional tricks to fool their victims, says Professor Aunshul Rege, who studies romance scams. They isolate victims, push them onto private messaging apps, and use “love bombing” to gain trust by giving lots of attention and affection. Red flags include asking for gift cards and refusing to meet in person.

Katherine realized it was a scam when the messages turned nasty after she ran out of money. Now, she’s struggling to rebuild her life but hopes her story will warn others. “I’ve got 29 miles of gas left in my car, and that’s the lowest I’ve ever been,” she said.

It’s unknown whether this incident is connected to the earlier incident of a French woman being scammed by a Brad Pitt impersonator. Anne, a 54-year-old French woman, was scammed out of €830,000 by someone posing as Brad Pitt. She is preparing her counterattack with the help of Marwan Ouarab, founder of the website “Find My Scammer.”

Using a baited link, Marwan identified the scammer and their group in Nigeria, uncovering that they had scammed 34 victims and are now impersonating Keanu Reeves. While it’s unlikely the scammer will face justice in Nigeria, Anne may be able to recover some of her money by taking legal action against her bank.

It’s unclear if the scams are related, but previous reports link Keanu Reeves impersonators to West Africa.

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