From online romance to Stranger Things scam

McKayla, a single mother from Kentucky, found herself in a twisted web of deception when she fell for a catfishing scam orchestrated by someone posing as Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery. Connecting on an online creative forum, McKayla’s affection for her fake Montgomery grew, even leading her to send around $10,000 to the imposter. 

According to McKayla, who recounted the story on the YouTube series Catfished, The faux Montgomery spun a tale of relationship woes with his supposed model girlfriend, Liv Pollock, whose controlling behavior paralleled McKayla’s past experiences. Empathy for her own toxic marriage and a striking Stranger Things coincidence further sealed her belief. The scammer’s alleged connection was fortified when they correctly predicted an episode appearance.

In a poetic twist, the catfisher even mimicked Montgomery’s style from a 2020 poetry collection. McKayla, admitting her vulnerability, lamented the scam’s exploitation of her fears.

“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,” McKayla said. “These scammers, they just kind of come in and they leech off that.”