Stranger Things fan lost $10k after being catfished by Dacre Montgomery scammer

McKala, an “obsessed” Stranger Things fan, divorced her husband and lost $10,000 after she was catfished by a scammer impersonating star Dacre Montgomery.

The Kentucky native appeared on the latest episode of Catfished Social’s Scamfished, where she spoke about meeting “Montgomery” (who plays Billy Hargrove in the Netflix show) on an artists’ forum last year, which she’d joined to meet other creatives amid her “toxic” marriage.

“This guy messaged me, he was under a different username… we got to talking and he admits he’s a well-known actor. Of course, here I am thinking he’s gonna say Johnny Depp or something… he tells me he’s Dacre Montgomery,” she recalled.

They “hit it off”, and while she was suspicious at first, he seemingly started “doing things that made [her] believe he is who he says he is.” Unfortunately, a more nefarious scam was in play, and McKala became the victim of a pricey catfish.

Stranger Things fan scammed by Dacre Montgomery catfish

During the episode, the hosts asked why they weren’t able to meet face-to-face. “That’s one thing we bonded over,” she explained. “Basically, through the relationship, he was venting to me for a few months about his partner, saying she’s very controlling of him.”

McKala “empathized” with that, given her past relationship with her ex-husband. A year after they shared their feelings for one another, “Montgomery” asked her to be his girlfriend as he was thinking about breaking up with his current partner.

McKala checked his social media profiles and noticed he hadn’t posted much about his girlfriend, but he also refused to FaceTime her or call her because he couldn’t have any time alone. He then gave her an “ultimatum… it’s either your husband or it’s me.” She said there was “no competition”, so McKala divorced her husband and left her and her daughter alone.

She was even further convinced that it was the real Montgomery after the scammer told her to watch Episode 4 of Stranger Things’ fourth season, in which the character returns for a brief appearance. “I was like… well, who else would know that?” she said. He also sent her poems in the style of the actor’s writing, which added to his authenticity.

Then came the money: the scammer claimed Montgomery’s partner controlled their joint bank accounts, so he asked McKayla to help him if he left her. She started sending $100 and $200 gift cards – which he sold and “pocketed the money” – and it all eventually amounted to $10,000.

The Scamfished team investigated and, as you’d expect, they came to the conclusion she was talking to a romance scammer. “He’s done research on you, he’s looked at your profile… he’s basically morphing himself into this person you want him to be,” they told her.

McKala knows people will struggle to understand how she could have believed the catfish, but said: “If you’re someone like me, you’re afraid of abandonment and you’re a real big people pleaser and you’re very co-dependent. These scammers, they just kind of come in and they leech off that.”

You can check out what we know about Stranger Things Season 5 here and our other coverage here.