rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
Rebecca Callander claims she was hustled, scammed, bamboozled, hoodwinked and led astray.
But after allegedly losing her savings in a cruel Coachella scam, the Los Angeles-based Australian artist is fighting back — in a big way.
“All the signs were there,” Callander, who is currently in Spain, told 7NEWS.com.au of her ordeal.
Trends, culture and exclusive features: Sign up for 7LIFE newsletters
“But I was really emotionally invested in this.”
The Bundaberg native, who goes by the stage name Beks, was introduced through a friend to a man purporting to be a Grammy-nominated music artist and producer, as well as a DJ and manager.
The man, who 7NEWS.com.au has chosen not to name for legal reasons, and Callander began chatting online when the conversation turned to the behemoth California music festival Coachella.
That’s when he allegedly came forward with an offer that proved too good to be true: A discounted, all-access pass to the festival’s first weekend plus accommodation in the form of a house that would be full of other independent artists.
He allegedly urged Callander to jump on the offer because it was his last available ticket.
“I just trusted him, honestly,” she said.
“I guess I had stars in my eyes. When he dropped ‘Grammy-nominated … around independent artists in LA’, it’s not unbelievable to get excited.
“This was a really big decision for me and I’m a spontaneous person.
“I believed this opportunity. I thought I got a really good discounted ticket.
“I just couldn’t see the signs.”
Callander was charmed by the man’s purported championing of independent artists, as well a sob story about experiencing racial discrimination in the music industry.
“For six days, I assumed he was my friend,” she said.
“He told me a story … about how he’d been discriminated against in the music industry because of the colour of his skin.
“About how he was just giving so much to independent artists, mentoring artists, and it just pulled me right in.
“The idea that I’m going to Coachella with a household full of artists, backstage … are you joking? If you’re an aspiring star, that’s a dream come true.”
At the man’s request, Callander says she transferred $US2000 ($A3065) into a bank account for which he allegedly provided the details.
She got a receipt for the transaction, but the man allegedly then “immediately” claimed it was the “wrong account”.
Then he allegedly asked her to travel to an ATM with him so she could withdraw the $2000 in cash to give him. She did not go ahead with the request.
“I should have known right then (it was a scam),” she said.
“Actually, I should have gone way back to when he said he’s never used PayPal. I should have gone way back to when he told me he was taking a helicopter to Coachella.
“I should have known. So many signs I could have looked back on.”
She also met him to give him $US1200 ($A1839) in cash for the accommodation.
Callander says the promised arrangements all fell through.
Callander claims he said the Coachella pass was no longer available to her due to being needed by his manager for another artist, while the offer to her for a room in the accommodation was also revoked.
Then her bank confirmed that the money she had transferred him did land in the account, she says.
According to Callander, her messages and calls asking for the man to pay back the money have been ignored or been met with “abusive” messages from him.
“I really waited for the most obvious signs, wanting to believe this was real,” she said.
But her decision to tell her story on social media has led to a series of revelations that she believes points to her being the victim of a serial scammer.
She claims after her videos went viral, she has been informed of numerous others claiming a similar experience.
And, Callander says, the victims have begun to communicate in a bid to determine if there has been a pattern of alleged fraudulent behaviour by the man.
“Independent cases from all across the United States, in multiple industries — everything from paintball to ‘Tinder Swindler’ relationships where he’s emptied girl’s bank accounts, used women’s faces while they’re asleep to unlock their phones and access their cash app,” she said.
“He pretended to be the manager of (rapper) Travis Scott and book him in clubs.
“The impact of that video and how it’s brought complete strangers from Orange County to Los Angeles in communication — that, to me, has outweighed the (financial) loss.
“The power of social media, and how the video went so crazy, I’m connecting all these people and it’s wild.”
Callander says she has made “multiple” complaints to police.
But with “20,000 cases in front of you”, she is not expecting action against the man anytime soon.
In what she counts as a win, the man has removed his claim of being nominated for Grammy awards from his Instagram profile and made his account private.
“I think we have done something,” she said.
“In my opinion, it’s a result of living in such a harsh environment as well.
“You want to rise above and be a star and there are so many people desperate to do that.
“It’s just desperation, honestly.”