Ore Oduba admits he’s been scammed in elaborate online hoax

TV personality Ore Oduba was reduced to tears on Sunday evening after admitting he’s been duped by an elaborate online scam. 

Sharing a six-minute video with Instagram followers, Oduba, 39, struggled to contain his emotions while revealing how scammers had exploited his passion for American podcaster Mel Robbins and her series of self-help books – among them The Let Them Theory. 

The presenter had publicly advocated Robbins during a previous appearance on ITV show Loose Women by claiming her philosophy ‘changed his life.’

And Oduba – who once helped viewers avoid insurance scams as host of BBC documentary series Claimed And Shamed – says he was contacted by someone who claimed to be Robbins following his appearance on the daytime panel show. 

He said: ‘I reposted that interview, I tagged the Mel Robbins podcast, tagged the Let Me theory, tagged Mel, tagged everybody who cared, and then I got an email from my agent who forwarded on an email from the team at the Mel Robbins podcast. 

‘I could have cried – they knew who I was! I got an email from the Mel Robbins podcast team.’ 

He added: ‘I told Mel everything. How she had changed my life. And I literally said at the end of the email, even for you to know who I am, is everything. Thank you so much for getting in touch.’ 

Admitting he was ‘ashamed and embarrassed’ by the con, a tearful Oduba recalled being invited onto the Robbins’ podcast – currently among the top 15 podcasts in the United States with more than 20 million subscribers. 

‘I’m reading this back and I know exactly how it made me feel at the time,’ he said. ‘I wrote back and I said, “Mel, I’m holding back tears. Is this for real? You must have AI helping you correspond with all of these fans.” 

‘Mel wrote back, “of course it’s me – it’s Mel Robbins.” So then I lost my s**t, I absolutely lost my s**t, in tears on an Avanti West Coast train from Birmingham to London, thinking that my whole life was about to change.’

He added: ‘By the way, I used to host a show about scammers. I have watched enough Watchdog to last a lifetime – that doesn’t stop me being in the middle of it. 

‘I never thought I’d be the person that would be scammed.’ 

Oduba soon realised the email had been sent from a Gmail account – an immediate red flag – and worse, that Mel’s name had been incorrectly spelt.  

After contacting the Robbins PR team via her official website, the presenter’s fears were confirmed when he was told that any correspondence sent from a Gmail account would likely be malicious.  

Captioning Sunday’s Instagram post, Oduba admitted he was fortunate to spot the scam before parting with any money. 

He wrote: ‘I’m ashamed, I’m embarrassed and I’m human. Did not think I would be the kind of person who could be scammed, but this proves it really can happen to anyone. 

‘Especially with the help and manipulation of AI. I’m terrified how easily I was ‘hooked’. It was SO convincing, it’s scary.’

He added: ‘I’ve made no secret of how much Mel Robbins, her book and podcast have helped me through a really difficult period. 

‘Truth is I turned an emotional blind eye to something I so deeply wanted to believe was for me and nearly got myself into a whole heap of trouble (sidenote.. I’ve realised in making this video how often we do the same thing in relationships too!)

‘Listen to your gut, it’s most likely telling you the truth. And don’t get scammed, it’s no fun. 

‘Still inspired by and love Mel Robbins and so grateful to them for their swift response. I got lucky – it could so easily have been too late.’ 

Robbins’ The Let Them Theory sold 100,000 copies in its first week and topped both The New York Times and the Sunday Times’ bestseller lists for a month following its release in 2024. 

Celebrity advocates including talk show host Oprah Winfrey have praised the book, with Winfrey calling it a ‘life-changing tool for those seeking to regain power and peace’. 

Robbins had previously discussed  the mindset – which encourages the belief that whenever someone is not behaving the way you want them to, you should just let them be – with Instagram followers. 

‘I just heard about this thing called the “let them” theory. I freaking love this,’ she said.

‘If your friends are not inviting you out to brunch this weekend, let them. If the person that you’re attracted to is not interested in a commitment, let them. If your kids do not want to get up and go to that thing with you this week, let them.’ 

Robbins noted that ‘so much time and energy is wasted on forcing other people to match our expectations.’

She added that the technique is especially important to follow if a partner or a friend is not showing up for you the way you need them to.

‘Do not try to force them to change. Let them be themselves because they are revealing who they are to you,’ she advised. ‘Just let them. And then you get to choose what you do next.’