Examples Of Fake Celebrity Scams
Celebrities have always been used to endorse products to induce people to buy, whether on television or radio adverts or, more recently, on the internet.
This has opened up a lucrative route for scammers to dupe unsuspecting members of the public into parting with cash by using bogus celebrities to front their campaigns.
Celebrity scams are particularly dangerous because we have a natural trust in our favourite stars. And scammers use that trust to con innocent people out of their money.
We cannot stress enough that this is not your fault.
Here are some examples of the most common fake celebrity scams:
- Fake celebrity endorsements: where scammers use the image and words of a celebrity to promote a product online – only the celebrity isn’t involved at all.
Unsuspecting victims buy the product on the strength of the endorsement, only to find out too late that they have been duped by a scammer.
Examples include £285,000 lost to a promotional article featuring a fake Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones, and nearly £150,000 lost to a fake crypto investment advert on Facebook purportedly featuring Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis. - Fake celebrity romance scams: scammers target vulnerable people who follow a popular celebrity on social media, posing as that celebrity and sending messages from a private account. Scammers build a relationship with the targeted fan over time, before coming up with a bogus reason why they need money. The fake celebrity will ask either for a bank transfer or gift cards (that can be redeemed immediately), and will keep the deception going for as long as they can.
- Fake celebrity-backed charities: similar in principle to fake celebrity endorsements, scammers will create bogus charities and use a celebrity’s name to get donations.
Far from any money going to charity, the proceeds of any donations or the purchase of related products will go straight into the scammer’s bank account. - Fake autographs: scammers will try to sell fake celebrity autographs as if they were real, often a heavily discounted cost compared to the real thing. The forgeries are often convincing, and can therefore be hard to spot.
How To Protect Yourself From Fake Celebrity Scams
The best way to protect yourself from fake celebrity scams is to question everything you see online that is apparently backed by a celebrity.
For example, Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis regularly posts on his own social media accounts that he never endorses any product. So if you see such a post, you know it will be fake.
Here are a few ways to keep yourself safe from celebrity scammers:
- If you see a celebrity endorsement online, search the celebrity’s name alongside the word ‘scam’ to see if it’s a well-known fraud. Also check the celebrity’s verified social media accounts to see if they have mentioned the scam.
- If you choose to donate to a celebrity-backed charity, check to see if it is legitimate. In the UK, you can search the Charity Register, or use sites like Charity Navigator. It’s also worth searching for the name of the charity alongside the word ‘scam’ to see if there are any articles highlighting fraudulent activity.
- Do not engage with a supposed celebrity on an unverified social media account, and do not believe that a celebrity uses a social media account they want to keep secret from their management team.
- Follow the usual rules of online safety – don’t give out debit and credit card numbers online unless you know you are dealing with a secure site, denoted by the ‘https’ web address prefix. And never send money via wire transfer, gift cards, or prepaid debit cards to someone you don’t know.
- Report any scams you see to the special media account, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, X, or another network.