‘Quite the wake-up call’: Details emerge after sombre Natalie Barr on-air reveal

Sunrise star Natalie Barr appeared sombre this week as she told viewers of the hit Channel Seven breakfast show that she had “something important” to share.

Dressed in pale blue, and clutching her show notes in her hand, the popular presenter explained how her likeness was being used by callous scammers in a bid to fool fans out of their hard-earned cash.

“Over the past few weeks, I’ve become aware of a growing number of fake social media accounts pretending to be me,” the star explained, as an example of one such account interacting with a fan rolled across the screen.

“Some of these accounts are sending private messages to people like you, striking up random conversations.”

Nat went on to say that she does like to interact with fans online – but she would only ever do so from her verified Instagram account which has a blue tick.

“I would never contact someone out of the blue claiming I’ve been monitoring their profile,” she clarified. “I would never ask for money, investments, gift cards, bank details or personal information.

“Sadly, scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They use my name, my photos, and sometimes even copy my entire profile to make themselves look legitimate.

“If you receive a message that doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts. Block the account, and please report it.”

Now, insiders tell Woman’s Day just how hard Nat has been hit by the realisation her likeness is being used to fool others, revealing that she “hates that she is the target of these awful grubs who prey on innocent people”.

“Anyone who follows Nat on social media will agree she is a bit of an over-sharer – those closest to her have even made the point with her that she spends way too much time on her phone,” the source explains. “So this will have given her quite the wake up call”.

The source says that Nat is very protective of her beloved Sunrise audience, who have become “like family” to her after many years, and the star is naturally looking at ways to not only protect herself but her many supporters.

While the star is much-loved for her videos about fashion and cooking, she has traditionally had a more cautious approach to sharing details about her family with her 121,000 Instagram fans, rarely posting photos of her two – now adult – sons, Lachlan and Hunter over the years.

Now a source explains this latest catfishing episode may only make her even more reluctant to share snippets from her life off-screen.

“She no doubt will have sought advice from one of her closest mates and former co-host David Koch as to how to avoid any more catfish accounts in her name popping up,” the insider explains, adding that Kochie repeatedly campaigned against scammers after his own image and name was used by crooks.

“The irony is that Nat reports on stories like this almost every week of her life on Sunrise – but being the victim has made her feel incredibly vulnerable.

“The best solution to avoid all this happening again is to continue to remind viewers that this is not the real Nat, and that she would never ask for money, investments, gift cards, bank details or personal information as she stated this week,” the insider concludes.

“She just needs to make sure everyone knows the real Natalie Barr is not going to swindle you out of your hard earned money!”