Duncan James reveals scammers robbed him of £5k after they ‘cleared out’ his bank account
Duncan James has revealed that he was robbed of £5,000 by online fraudsters who ‘cleared out’ his bank account.
The former Blue singer, 42, said scammers sent him a fake email pretending to be HMRC as they asked for his account details.
Believing he would receive a tax rebate, he handed over his information, but contacted his bank after realising he was duped.
Shocking: Duncan James revealed on Tuesday that he was robbed of £5,000 by online fraudsters who ‘cleared out’ his bank account
Thankfully the star, who is set to appear on The Circle’s Celebrity Series, was able to get his money back.
‘I got an email from a fake HMRC telling me about a tax rebate that I had to give my details,’ Duncan said, reported The Sun.
‘I didn’t think and just handed it over and then my accountant was like, “HMRC will never ask for your account details. They have them. You don’t need to do that.”
‘And I was like, “S***, what have I done?” and then I looked in my account and they had cleared me out. They took about five grand.’
The singer confirmed there are plenty of ‘catfishes’ out there as he said you can ‘never really trust anybody’.
Duped! The former Blue singer, 42, said scammers sent him a fake email pretending to be HMRC as they asked for his account details which he mistakenly handed over
Last month, Duncan and his Belgian boyfriend Rodrigo Reis made their TV debut on Loose Women to share details of their relationship with viewers.
The actor, who previously identified as bisexual before coming out as gay in 2012, admitted he found it ‘really hard’ to come out because he worried about ‘alienating’ female fans and ‘letting down’ his band members.
However he now brands those fears as ‘so stupid.’
Duncan and Rodrigo joined Loose Women panellists Brenda Edwards, Ruth Langsford, Frankie Bridge and Linda Nolan to chat about their romance.
Explaining how they first met, Duncan said: ‘We met in Belgium… I was doing a gig with the boys and I met him at the afterparty.
‘I met him across the bar, as Brenda Edwards can tell you, he’s very much my type!’
And the pair are most definitely serious about each other having met one another’s mothers.
Loved up: Last month, Duncan – who came out as gay in 2012 – and his Belgian boyfriend Rodrigo Reis made their TV debut on Loose Women to share details of their relationship
Duncan revealed: ‘Before we went into lockdown, we [Duncan, Rodrigo and their mums] all went to Gent in Belgium where Rodrigo lives, and I went to have a weekend with him and his mum in Italy, which was lovely.
Duncan also said Rodrigo’s got the nod of approval from his mum: ‘It’s really important. I’m super close to my mum. She likes Rodrigo, so we’re winning at the moment. Historically she hasn’t liked my partners.’
And Rodrigo gushed about meeting Duncan’s daughter Tianie-Finn James, who Duncan co-parents with his ex and former ballet dancer Claire Grainger.
The Belgian hunk enthused: ‘She’s wonderful! I’ve met her two or three times. She’s so beautiful, what she does in ballet… wow!’
Family matters: Rodrigo gushed about meeting Duncan’s daughter Tianie-Finn James (pictured), who Duncan co-parents with his ex and former ballet dancer Claire Grainger