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Country Artists Create Video To Warn Fans About Imposters On Social Media

Published Jun 28, 2018 By Miranda Raye

Blake Shelton / YouTube

Let’s Talk About Celebrity Imposters

You’ve probably had it happen to you before. You log on social media, and your heart skips a beat when you see you have a message or friend request from “Scotty McCreery” or “Carrie Underwood.”

This is a screen shot of a FAKE Scotty McCreery Profile on Instagram, which mimics McCreery’s actual profile details and profile photo. Note the lack of a blue checkmark and the misspelled name, as well as the low follower count. 

But after you get over the initial surprise, you realize these accounts are fakes, and move on your way.

However, not everyone comes to this realization. There are some who truly believe that these accounts belong to their favorite country stars, and decide to engage with them.

Operating under the guise of a country singer’s name, these posers trick innocent fans into sending them money or personal information by promising them good concert seats, VIP experiences, and even romantic dates.

You’d think that people wouldn’t fall for such tricks, but they do…a lot.

Country Fans Who’ve Been Scammed

Within recent years, reports of country fans being scammed by social media imposters seem to pop up a lot more frequently than they should. In 2017, a Kid Rock fan sent $600 and copies of his and his wife’s drivers licenses to a Kid Rock imposter who promised to get them concert tickets.

Also in 2017, Toby Keith‘s team had to warn fans about an imposter asking people for money to join a new fan club. One bold (and rather foolish) Kix Brooks imposter actually messaged Kix’s wife asking if she was single and wanting to set up a date with her.

But no matter how many of these stories hit the news, or how often stars such as Chris Young and Jake Owen denounce poser accounts, fans continue to fall for these scams. So over 20 country stars decided to get together to do something about it.

Country Stars Band Together For Important Message

In a PSA led by Blake Shelton, rising stars teamed up with industry veterans to warn fans about fake celebrity accounts on social media. While many of the artists filmed their bits of the PSA at the 2018CMT Music Awards, others contributed through homemade videos.

Just a few of the many artists who participated in the PSA include Trace Adkins, Keith Urban, Kelly Clarkson, Rascal Flatts, and Maren Morris. First, they all denounced the fake celebrity accounts.

Then, the stars went on to share one go-to way that you can recognize if an account is a fake. As they explained, they all only have one official account on social media sites. The way you can figure out if it’s official is if you see a blue checkmark next to their name.

This checkmark indicates that the profile has been verified by the platform as being an official account. Just look at this screenshot from Blake’s Twitter as an example.

Blake Shelton / Twitter

So What Should You Do?

The stars then went on to explain how fake accounts often tack random numbers on to the end of their names, misspell them, and vary them in some slight way to trick fans. Just in case you didn’t realize it before, the stars want you to know that such accounts are fake.

“Like the ones called Blakey Shelton,” said Blake. “That’s bull—-.”

But most importantly, the stars want you to know how to handle such accounts if you ever come across them. Don’t send them money, don’t give them your personal information, and don’t engage with them.

So what should you do? Report the profile to whichever social media site you’re on and ignore the user.

You can watch the stars’ full PSA in the video below. They have some important stuff to say, so pay attention.