A Scots mum has told how she was duped by a serial conman who reeled her in on Plenty of Fish after a series of scams in Ireland.
Demi Cairns, 23, thought she had found her perfect match with new boyfriend Paul Kinahan after he pursued her on the dating site last month.
But Demi’s new man – whose real name is Wesley Brennan – has been accused of vanishing with £200 of her money.
Demi turned detective and realised the online Romeo was a con artist previously jailed for duping a woman in Ireland.
Brennan, 30, was jailed for 18 months in 2015 for stealing a car worth £4800 on a first date with a woman he met on Plenty of Fish .
His image was circulated online a few months ago when another Dublin woman claimed her friend had been scammed out of £1300 for sports tickets after meeting him on the same site.
Brennan is being probed by Police Scotland after Demi reported him. Demi, from Garthamlock, Glasgow , said: “He told me his full name was Paul Wesley Kenneth Kinahan.
“I feel like I’ve been really stupid but he was so convincing. I want to warn other people.”
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Brennan became notorious in Ireland when an online warning about him went viral.
It told how so-called Wesley O’Brien claimed to be a friend of MMA star Conor McGregor and the nephew of billionaire Denis O’Brien.
Mum-of-two Demi was contacted by Brennan just before Christmas and met him twice in Glasgow, where he said he was working, as well as chatting online and on the phone daily over a few weeks.
The pair had been making plans to holiday in Marbella next month but he vanished after she gave him money.
She had allowed him to access a dormant bank account in her name after he claimed to have lost his bank card and paid in £200 to help get him home from a trip to England to spend the week with her in Glasgow.
When her internet banking showed her account had been used in Dublin, she asked for an explanation and found herself blocked from contacting him. He has not been in contact since.
Demi then checked a screen grab of a supposed holiday booking he sent her and spotted a signature of W O’Brien.
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After Googling Wesley O’Brien, her new man’s past began to unravel.
Police officers took a statement from Demi yesterday but she fears they will not take up the case because she willingly handed over her bank details.
Demi said: “I think he knew I was vulnerable and played on it. He was even on the phone to my mum and dad.
“I feel quite lucky that I found out early. He spent more money on me than he got out of me. But I don’t think I’ll be able to trust another man again.”
When we contacted the author of the viral post about Brennan, they confirmed it was the same person who had duped Demi.
She claimed she had been contacted by more than 40 people claiming to have fallen victim to Brennan’s lies.
When we tried to contact Brennan using numbers he gave to Demi, none of the calls was answered or returned.
A police spokesman said: “An investigation was carried out and on this occasion, no criminality was established. Advice and assistance has been given.”