Heartbreaking.
Of course by now we’ve all seen the warnings from celebrities, begging their fans not to reply to anyone reaching out and claiming to be them or a member of their team. There are a ton of scammers out there, pretending to be celebrities private messaging with fans and inevitably asking them for money.
Now, most people know that these people are scammers: Why would an artist need to ask a fan for money? And why would any artist be private messaging with fans on apps like Telegram from a “secret number?” It doesn’t really make much sense, but unfortunately there are plenty of people who fall for it, with often heartbreaking results after losing thousands of dollars.
We see scammers in our comments all the time, pretending to be artists and replying to comments telling someone to private message them. And as soon as you block one of them, another one pops up. It’s a never-ending battle. I’ve even had scammers pretending to be artists that I know personally, people that I’ve texted with and have their phone number, message me and thank me for being a fan. It’s insane.
Just recently, a Pennsylvania woman lost somewhere around $384,000 in a romance scam after meeting what she thought was an up and coming country music star through TikTok. Though the name of the country star wasn’t disclosed, the conversations through TikTok – which eventually moved over to Telegram at the request of the scammer – were apparently convincing enough.
(By the way, Telegram is an app that is often used by scammers, so beware if anyone ever asks you to move messages over to that).
Over the course of months, the 63-year-old woman sent money to the scammer, mainly through Apple gift cards that she purchased and then transferred over. The scary part is that the $384,000 that was lost is just an estimate, and state police are working to determine if even more money was sent over to the scammer by the Pennsylvania woman.
Eventually, the victim’s children discovered that their mother was being scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The scammer had even convinced the woman not to tell her family about their relationship, which led to the scam running for much longer than it should have.
Artists are constantly issuing warnings to fans and telling them flat out that they would never message them directly on any platform: Most recently, Cody Johnson reminded his fans not to send money to anyone claiming to be him or a member of his team.
Unfortunately though, one Warren Zeiders fan recently learned this lesson the hard way when she thought she was messaging with the “Pretty Little Poison” singer – until she asked him in person and realized she was being streamed.
The moment was caught on camera during a livestream of an autograph session, as the woman seemed to confirm her own suspicions:
“Can I ask you something? I’m not talking to you on anything am I?”
Zeiders confirmed that it wasn’t him, as the woman made a heartbreaking admission:
“I have lost a lot of money to these scammers.”
The woman also asked Zeiders if she could give him her number so they could “talk about it later,” a request Zeiders quickly (and smartly) refused. But you can tell just how bad he feels for the fan, who appears to be older and is apparently out a lot of money thanks to a scammer.
@donnyclipss DAY 5: NO BRAKES LIVESTREAM. A woman claims she’s having “private” conversations with Warren. If someone is claiming to be Warren or a member of his family, you’re most likely talking to an impostor. Please stay safe, stay sharp, and remain vigilant. #warrenzeiders #nobrakes #twitch #livestreaming
And I know it’s easy to say, “How are people still falling for this?” But these are professional scammers, and they’re good at what they do, which is unfortunately taking advantage of trusting fans.
Just remember: No celebrity is ever going to private message you, and they’re definitely not going to ask you to send them money. If somebody messages you, or replies to your comment asking you to message them, just block them and move on with your day. It could end up saving you a lot of money.
