How To Protect Yourself From Fake Celebrity Scams

Celebrities frequently post professional updates, personal opinions, and even travel footage to social media, where they interact with fans in comment threads. 

But if you get a direct message from a beloved musician, actress, or athlete out of the blue, don’t become starry-eyed; it’s almost definitely a hoax.

Celebrities use their social media platforms to interact with their fans and share memories with them.

But nowadays Scammers contact fans of the real star, requesting money for several false reasons:

• charitable contributions, something that is associated with the actual celeb.

• Tickets to private concerts or meet-and-greets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

• A risk-free investment,

• Supposedly from a well-known business mogul, a cryptocurrency trade

• Fees for processing a large prize giveaway

• Only fans party for a limited number of people.

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How To Protect Yourself From Fake Celebrity Scams

If you recognize the warning signs, it’s not difficult to spot fake stars and fake accounts.

We will go through the signs, the things to do, and what not to do.

But first, you have to acknowledge the fact that there are scammers out there. 

When dealing with uninvited encounters from people or businesses, whether over the phone, by mail, email, in person, or on a social networking site, always consider the danger of a scam.

Remember that if anything seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Signs

• A supposedly celebrity-affiliated account asks for money for a charitable donation or another reason or promises a major prize if you respond to a social media post or direct message.

• Payment can be made with a gift card, prepaid debit card, or wire transfer, according to the message.

• The account is inactive and has few followers, and it lacks a blue checkmark (showing that it has been validated as real by the social network).

• The account holder’s name, such as “Jeniffer Lopez,” is misspelled or includes peculiar punctuation, such as “Will.Smith.TV.”

• Scammers will frequently request that you switch on your computer to solve a problem or install a free upgrade, which is a virus that will steal your passwords and personal information.

Things To Do Or Look Out For

• On celebrity social media pages, search for the blue checkmark. It’s an impostor if there’s no checkmark.

• Check the celebrity’s name on Google with the word “scam” to discover whether it’s been linked to impostor schemes.

• To notify the appropriate social media network about internet celebrity impersonators. Fake accounts can be reported on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

• Names of non-existent organizations.

• Inferior presentation, poorer grammar, and spelling, and too formal or forced language

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What Not To Do

• Don’t offer personal information or send money through a gift card, wire transfer, prepaid debit card, or peer-to-peer payment software to someone you don’t know and have only spoken with online, no matter how purportedly renowned.

• Even if they don’t ask for money right away, don’t communicate with a rumored celebrity on an unverified social media account.

• Do not trust allegations that a putative celebrity account lacks a verification mark or has an unusual handle because it is a private account that the celebrity keeps hidden from the administration.

• Do not use easy Passwords. Carefully select lower case passwords. Choose passwords that are difficult to guess and update them frequently. 

A strong password should be made up of a combination of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. 

Don’t use the same password for all of your accounts/profiles, and don’t tell anyone your passwords.

• Lock your mailbox and shred your invoices and other important documents before throwing them away. Passwords and PINs should be stored in a safe place. 

Use extreme caution while sharing personal information on social media platforms. 

Scammers may create a false identity or use your information and images to target you with a scam.

Conclusion 

When it comes to scammers, I believe that one of the best ways to defend yourself from bogus celebrity scams is to trust your instincts.

Most of the time, these things appear to be too good to be true, so I would suggest you be cautious and alert.