A government warning has been issued after scammers repeatedly used photos of a 'silver fox' defence minister to dupe women - including a mum who lost £80,000.<br /><br />Authorities in Latvia say they are aware of more than 100 fake profiles featuring snaps of suave Artis Pabriks.<br /><br />One con artist, posing as 'Murphy Townsend', swindled Brit Sharon Bulmer out of thousands after he sent her a Facebook message saying he was "lonely' in May 2020.<br /><br />But, after over two years of saying he was a US soldier who needed money to leave Syria and visit her, she discovered that he was not a real person.<br /><br />It was then that the pictures he claimed were of him were actually of Mr Pabriks - the Minister of Defence.<br /><br />The Latvian Defence Office said they have been "facing this situation for a long time" and have reported over 100 fake profiles using the minister's images.<br /><br />Sharon, from Manchester, is still coming to terms with being conned.<br /><br />The 51-year-old said: "He asked me to help him and I did, but over the time it's got me into huge debt and because I have fallen for this person. <br /><br />"I just wanted to help him so much. I know I have been a fool but these are the things we do for love."<br /><br />The person behind the account claimed to be a 56-year-old man from Washington DC, with a 17-year-old daughter called Helen.
