Good Morning America fan-favorite Ginger Zee has a warning for her loyal fans: don’t believe everything you see!
Ginger took to social media this week to make it clear that she would never solicit her fans nor promise to marry them online.
In an eye-opening Instagram post, Ginger revealed that one of her millions of fans claimed they have been communicating with her via DMs.
Ginger uploaded a screenshot from a message she received from an unidentified super fan who wrote to the GMA star, “I have been talking to someone who says they are you.”
“Can you tell me if you are separated from your husband, as we had arranged for me to emigrate to the states, so we could Wed and I would help out with your boys,” the DM continued. “Or on the other hand, I’ve been conned hook, line and sinker.”
As it turns out, the follower was indeed conned and had been catfished by someone online posing as Ginger.
Ginger Zee warns her fans of online catfishing schemes
In the caption of the post, Ginger explained that this wasn’t the first time this had happened and reassured her fans that she would never try to con them.
“Unfortunately not the first message like this… for the record, this is my ONLY account. I’ll never try to sell you something, ask for money… and definitely won’t make plans to marry you on DMs,” Ginger wrote.
The GMA personality continued to urge, “Please be careful in the Wild West of catfish and scams on social media. My friend @nevschulman certainly has job security. #catfish #fraud #scam.”
Ginger also added text over the super fan’s screenshot, alerting the host of MTV’s Catfish, Nev Schulman: “Paging Nev from Catfish… no, that’s not me.”
Ginger’s friends, family, and followers react to the catfishing situation
Just a few hours after posting the news, Ginger received an outpouring of feedback in the comments of her share.
Many were shocked that someone would fall victim to a catfishing scheme, while others poked fun at the situation.
Among those who found some humor in Ginger’s post was her husband, Ben Aaron, who joked, “It’s me.”
“Well played,” responded one of Ginger’s followers to Ben’s comment, with another leaving a slew of crying-laughing emojis to express their amusement.
Ginger’s fellow female meteorologist, Lindsey Slater, wrote, “Oh good Lord.”
“Poor guy. He changed his entire life around to move here to marry you. And watch the boys! What more could you possibly want in life?” teased @tracesparkles.
In response to Tracey’s comment, Ginger posted a surprised-face emoji, clearly still taken aback by what happened.