Has your favorite celebrity contacted you on social media?
Before you get too excited, are you sure it’s that person? Really sure? These days, celebrities routinely share professional news, personal views, and even travel videos on social media and interact with their fans in the comment sections. Some celebrities also raise money for legitimate causes. However, if you receive a direct message out of the blue from a favorite musician, actor, or athlete, you should become skeptical – it’s almost certainly a scam.
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are buzzing with fake celebrity accounts set up to trick loyal fans. The scammers contact the real star’s followers and ask for money under various pretexts:
donations to charity (sometimes to a cause related to the real celebrity)
exclusive tickets to private concerts or meet-and-greets
a surefire investment, often a cryptocurrency deal purporting to come from a famous business mogul
processing fees for a grand prize contest
Another popular tactic is the fake livestream. The scammer’s account shows a video stolen from a celebrity’s real social feed, along with a message promising a cash prize for the first, say, 500 people to comment on a certain phrase or identify something hidden in an optical illusion. Participants receive a direct message asking for an account number or other personal information to make an alleged payment.
Any celebrity who has a social media presence can be exploited by a scammer. Scammers are particularly fond of exploiting the bond between country music stars and their fans. The fraudsters who make up deceptive social media profiles claiming to be celebrities are very often found to abuse the bond between country music stars and their fans, according to the AARP Fraud Watch Network helpline.
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