LANSING, Mich. (WNEM) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is reissuing multiple consumer alerts following an uptick in scams impersonating well-known individuals.
Nessel said scammers are impersonating celebrities or public officials such as Snoop Dogg, Kid Rock and even military leaders to steal money from victims.
“While it may be disappointing to hear, you are probably not in a secret, long-distance relationship with Garth Brooks,” Nessel said. “Scammers are constantly coming up with elaborate schemes to steal your money and may be posing as celebrities or public officials. If someone claiming to be Garth or any other famous figure is asking you personally for money, don’t send it. It’s almost certainly a scam.”
While scam tactics may vary, commonly used schemes include the following:
- Romance scams: Victims believe they are in an online relationship with well-known individuals that often involve requests for money.
- Cryptocurrency or “pig butchering” scams: Fake cryptocurrency or business investment opportunities endorsed by the celebrity or official.
- Merchandise scams: Consumers are asked to buy custom or exclusive merchandise from a scammer posing as a well-known individual.
Online romance and pig butchering scams take advantage of people looking for romantic partners on dating sites, apps, or social media. The scammers quickly profess their love for their victims and can claim to be a celebrity, in the military or working abroad, to explain why they are unable to meet in person.
To avoid romance and pig butchering scams the attorney general recommends the following precautions:
- Never agree to open a bank account or reship goods sent to you.
- Do not send money, prepaid gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency to someone you met online.
- Communicate only through the specific app and avoid giving out personal phone numbers or email addresses.
- Slow down and talk to someone you trust before responding if someone appears on your social media and rushes you to start a friendship or romance.
- Don’t send money, trade, or invest with a person you have only met online.
- Don’t speak of your financial position or investments with strangers online.
- Don’t share personal information or current financial status with strangers.
- Don’t provide your banking information, social security number, copies of your identification or passport, or any other sensitive information to anyone online or to a site that you cannot verify is authentic.
- Be cautious of individuals who claim to have exclusive investment opportunities and urge you to act fast.
Artificial intelligence scammers also create realistic voice messages and videos posing as well-known individuals. Scammers can clone a person’s voice using AI and call people using celebrities’ voices to make urgent demands for money.
To guard against such scams, the attorney general recommends the following:
- Do not trust caller ID: Scammers can spoof phone numbers to make calls appear legitimate.
- Beware of unusual payment requests: Scammers often demand payment through cryptocurrency, gift cards, or money transfer methods that are hard to trace or reverse.
- Remember that government entities and officials never request payment in gift cards or cryptocurrency.
If you have had one of these scams happen to you, you can file a complaint with the Department of Attorney General by calling 877-765-8388 or using the online complaint form.
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