Pensioner Daana Tomlin a victim of fraudsters posing as TV vet Dr Chris Brown

Fraudsters posing as Bondi Vet Dr Chris Brown love-bombed a 73-year-old grandmother with messages, tricking her into believing she was in a romantic relationship with the internationally famous vet - and convincing her to hand over cash.

Vet Chris Brown with his dog, Buzzy, at Double Bay. Fraudsters posing as Brown defrauded a 73-year-old New Zealand woman. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

A New Zealand grandmother has been defrauded by a fake Bondi Vet Chris Brown who used sophisticated AI-generated videos and emotionally manipulative messages in a romance scam that lasted five years and has left her feeling vulnerable and demanding an apology.

Sophisticated fraudsters love bombed Daana Tomlin, 73, with messages tricking her into believing she was in a romantic relationship with the internationally famous vet and to hand over the cash while appearing in convincing video messages.

The love hoaxer, who made initial contact through a Facebook page that posed as Brown’s official account, conned her into paying $786 in gift cards, Apple cards and PayPal.

“The money is not the end of the world, I’ll be thrilled to get half of it back,” she said speaking from Dunedin on the South Island’s southeast coast.

“This hoaxer knew I loved animals and birds.

New Zealander Daana Tomlin, 73, is furious after she paid a deep fake Chris Brown the vet $845NZD in total via gift cards, Apple cards and PayPal after falling prey to five-year romance scam. Picture: Supplied

“I knew of Chris Brown through his videos, and one day he (the scammer) made contact through Facebook, it was a cheeky message and he asked me to move on Telegram and WhatsApp immediately.

“Australians seem cheeky to us, so I started talking to him off and on but five and half years later we’re still talking, I don’t really know how that happened.

“Whenever I became suspicious and tried to end contact, he’d get angry and send me a video saying he was real. It certainly sounded and looked like him.

The social media profiles of celebrity veterinarian Dr Chris Brown have been the cloned by scammers to trick women into believing they are in a romantic relationship with him and to part with money. Picture: Richard Dobson

“He called me on WhatsApp, eight times in the last two weeks, but it rings out and we can never connect. It’s weird.

“I’m furious that it’s not the real Chris Brown, I paid a few hundred dollars for a meet and greet at New Zealand airport through Apple Cards and gift cards. I went to meet him there four months ago, I asked security when he didn’t show up, they said they had not seen him.

Daana Tomlin was love bombed in text messages on Telegram and WhatsApp for five years. The messages became increasingly aggressive when she questioned the scammers’ motives for demanding money. Picture: Supplied

Daana Tomlin was tricked into believing the Bondi Vet was a good friend over the course of five and a half years during which time she parted with $786. Picture: Supplied

Private Investigator Kylee Dennis who poses a single woman and interacts with love scammers says there are more than ten fake Chris Brown profiles and warned women to never pay money strangers. Picture: Supplied

Daana Tomlin has spoken up about her love hoax to prevent others falling prey to the romance scams. Picture: Supplied

“I feel silly and embarrassed for believing it was him but he called for five years at 5.30 every morning. He kept calling me his wife.

“What the scammer did was evil, it was devious, exploitative and invasive,” said the semi-retired natural therapist.

“He implied we were in a relationship but I was just happy to have the friendship and be talking to a vet I respected, I thought a need was being met in me,” she said.

The scammer claimed they had bought Ms Tomlin a red car tied and asked for money to pay for its registration. Picture: Supplied

Ms Tomlin, who was married for 19 years and has a grown up son, said she was alerted to the reality of the contact being a scam when her support worker discovered the PayPal payments several weeks ago.

The scammer had sent a picture of a red car tied with a bow as a present he claimed he bought her and asked for PayPal payments of several hundred dollars towards the registration.

Daana Tomlin, who was married for 19 years and has a grown up son, was alerted to the reality of the scam when her support worker discovered the PayPal payments. Picture: Supplied

The original Bondi Vet Dr Chris Brown. Picture: Supplied

The impostor persisted through AI-generated images and video calls that showed him filming.

The love hoax comes after the Telegraph revealed British woman Lisa Nock was defrauded out of $22,800 by scammers who posed as Chris Brown using AI-generated photos and emotionally manipulative messages.

Private Investigator Kylee Dennis who poses a single woman and interacts with love scammers says there are more than ten fake Chris Brown profiles and warned women to never pay money strangers.

Scammers using AI bombarded British woman Lisa Nock with messages tricking her into believing she was in a relationship the animal doctor during which she was defrauded out of $22,800. Picture: Supplied

“It happened to my mum these people are very good and will love bomb you and tell you to move onto Telegram or WhatsApp very quickly and these scams are becoming more convincing and prolific, thanks to AI,” she said.

Ms Tomlin is still coming to terms with being scammed.

“It’s kept me lying awake at night worrying, people in New Zealand don’t get together enough, a lot of people are on their own,” she said.

“It’s been hard, I haven’t been able to shake this off.”

Chris Brown has been contacted for comment.

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