by Tom Bevan

Sir Ian McKellen has issued a warning to fans after an imposter conned hundreds of autograph hunters at a signing event organised by a Kent-based promoter – by wearing a face mask.

The Lord of the Rings star confirmed a man and two women pretended to be him and his support team as part of an 'official signing' event that left around 400 people out of pocket.

Fans are understood to have paid between £75 and £100 to have a range of valuable personal items they sent in autographed by the actor.

The alleged scam saw organisers being made to wait outside while a man 'in a cap and a face mask' they presumed was Sir Ian spent more than an hour adding his signature.

The various items were then all given the industry standard 'BECKETT' authentication approval before being posted out to unsuspecting fans.

But upon delivery, several eagle-eyed fans became suspicious over the authenticity and the organiser of the event – Folkestone-based Smugglers Entertainments Ltd – was bombarded with complaints.

And Sir Ian has now confirmed their worst fears after stating he did not attend the event in Canary Wharf last Wednesday – and never sells autographs to fans.

He said: "I have been made aware that a man impersonating me and two women posing as my representatives have recently approached a promoter in Kent with the offer of a 'private signing' by Ian McKellen.

"I am very sorry for anyone who has sent in photos and items to be signed by this fraudulent impersonator.

"I understand that the promoter has offered to make refunds as soon as possible.

"To be clear, I have never attended paid signings. I do sign for charity and individuals who submit items directly to me."

Sir Ian has also updated his official twitter profile writing: "I never sell my autograph. On occasion I donate one or two signed items for charity. Other offers aren't genuine. Beware of imposters who try to gain confidence."

The promoter of the event for Smugglers Entertainments Ltd said he was now taking legal advice after initially believing a 'man in a face mask and cap' was Sir Ian.

According to its website, the company specialises in 'charity comic con events and private signings with guests from various movies.'

It is understand the alleged 'fake Sir Ian' was signed up by Smugglers and paid tens of thousands of pounds for attending the event.

Details of the alleged scam initially came in the form of several public Facebook posts from a representative of Smugglers, who said they had been left in a dark place after being "duped".

The man involved initially said he had sought legal advice "in case I've been mugged off and the gentleman I saw isn't Sir Ian".

"I saw a guy in a green cap and black coat wearing a facemask as everyone was and I thought 'heck that's Ian'."

And after official confirmation from Sir Ian's team that the signatures were fake, he added: "I'll be out for blood of these ********* who took me for a fool, which I have to say I must be for falling for it.

"Sorry guys for being taken for a fool. Angry is understatement. I am going to promise you I'll do everything now i can to get this sorted."

The spokesperson said when he arrived at the signing event he was told to sit and wait and collect items once they were all sorted.

He added: "I saw a guy in a green cap and black coat wearing a facemask as everyone was and I thought 'heck that's Ian'.

"During the wait I received a call from a woman telling me the signing could not continue as I was unprofessional and acted like an amateur.

"I tried to convince them to continue the signing but this wasn't an option. I was told the invoice for items Ian had signed needed to be sent from me on Monday or Tuesday.

"The items were ok'd and we were rolling. Items not signed were gone thereafter and we started posting out.

"It was brought to my attention that some looked off. Then I woke up to the Facebook world telling me they're not 100%."

The spokesperson said he has now contacted the organisers of the signing to ask how many had been signed but never got a response.

He said he has since been processes refunds after being bombarded with complaints.

"I know from what I've seen you're all ****** off with me but sending hateful **** and all the comments and posts don't change the fact I've been thrown under the bus."

He added: "Hate me, slag me off and share me across Facebook but you'll get refunded and then we'll deal with doing what we can to sort spoiled items out.

"I know from what I've seen you're all ****** off with me but sending hateful **** and all the comments and posts don't change the fact I've been thrown under the bus.

"I take full responsibility and maybe been foolish."

Solicitors are currently drafting up a letter that will be sent to Sir Ian's team.

The spokesperson said all refunds would be processed and they can also offer to have signatures removed.

He added: "I'm not in a good place because of this."

When contacted, the man said: "I don't want to say anything else at the moment as I don't want to make it worse. I am now taking legal advice."