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LATEST SCAM - Recent reports indicate a 148% increase in impersonation scams year over year, with celebrities being prime targets due to their public appeal and limited personal social media presence. Scammers are leveraging advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create realistic deepfake audio and video, cloning voices from public content to impersonate stars in distress and solicit money through untraceable methods like cryptocurrency (USDT) or gift cards. They have polished ways to deceive victims on emotional levels and damage the reputations of public figures.
The warning signs are easy to spot if you know what to look for. You can spot these imposters if you trust what your eyes show you. AI is not at a level of human interaction yet. Although very close, the blinking of eyes, the precise turning of heads, and a flat or monotone voice are the easiest to spot. So often imposters use scripted responses generally from apps such as ChatGPT and will rarely, if ever, use video or audio calls to communicate.
These scammers are the best at what they do. I, myself, was a bit naïve after spending some time away from social media. Despite my years as a contributor with Citywatchla.com, during which I spent a great deal of time researching fact over fiction for stories I delivered, it surprised me when I got sucked into a conversation (almost totally ChatGPT-written) consisting of beautiful words, promises, and verbiage I had never heard from any man. It was very easy to be duped, but there was always a “nagging” in my brain that stopped my heart from falling for a person solely based on typed words alone. This, sadly to say, was not my first encounter. For a while they were humorous to me and usually ended with a request for a management fee to deliver a celebrity or help to pay for a chartered aircraft for the same. I asked for audio and video calls, usually to no avail. These were all fakes: heaps of chat messages that were filled with empty promises, talk of love, travel plans and… oh, wait… pleas for money for one “emergency” or another. Insert any chat here.
As someone who’s lived the single life for a while now, there are moments where the heart flutters at the possibility of “what if.” Make no mistake; I’m not lonely, just thoughtful: in my heart is the kind of stillness that comes from learning to be okay with the changing seasons of life. These scammers seek to exploit people in my position, and thus I am motivated, in my anger toward this fact, to deliver this story, for even saving one person from being duped by these individuals is worth it to me.
While I consider myself very fortunate for having suffered only a bit of damage to my ego, I am deeply concerned for the thousands of vulnerable people caught up in these schemes that promise access to celebrities for a price. Countless people, primarily women, have lost life savings to such fraud, and there is literally no way to protect them.
Similarly, elderly men fall victim to female predators. These cases are underreported, though, as men seldom admit when these crimes are committed against them. One such case is Charlie G’s widow. Unbeknownst to her until after his death, her husband sent $500 a week to a woman in Somalia over a two-year span, hoping to bring her to the USA to marry while still wed to his American wife.
My heart aches for all the people who unwittingly become victims of these vile individuals. So many lives have changed for the worse after thinking they were communicating with an idol. And even the idols themselves, celebrities and athletes and politicians, are in danger of losing their names and brands to shoddy business tactics. As you read these words, someone could be using celebrity faces, names and voices to sell a product they have never even heard of.
One thing to remember is that this is not a violation of free speech. It is a crime. One that is running rampant on social platforms everywhere and as long as money can be made, they will continue to “rent” blue check marks to anyone who pays for them.
Facebook/Instagram (Meta) and X verify individuals with a blue checkmark, so users know they are genuine. Then each of these social media platforms sell the blue check marks to everyone for $9.99 to $11.99 per month with little to no vetting. Note the irony there. A major step in deterring these criminals would be to stop selling “fake” blue checkmarks to anyone who pays for them. These platforms have “Verified” badges that users can buy, but when those badges aren’t vetted well and anyone can buy them, well, do you see where this is going?
An AI overview shows that reports from 2020 to the present indicate a significant rise in celebrity impersonation cases, particularly driven by the emergence and increasing sophistication of deepfake technology. As this tech grows and is honed, it will only get worse from here on.
Criminal Enterprises have become a significant factor behind the rise of scammers and impersonators. Often, they operate sophisticated networks forcing many of their “employees” to work for them using coercion, manipulation and exploitation tactics that may include threats to family members, working to pay off debts, or confiscation of passports and ID’s to limit freedom.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received over 19,000 romance related complaints of scams in 2022 with victims losing around $735 Million. In 2021, there were about 24,000 complainants with losses totaling $956 Million. One investigation had resulted in the seizure of $8.2 Million in USDT linked to a romance baiting scam. 8 Yea
8 Years" to work for them
Social media platforms report that they are “struggling” to keep up with celebrity impersonation scams but are NOT aggressive enough in their efforts. Allegedly, they have policies against impersonation but scammers are using advanced AI tools to create convincing deep fakes and evade detection. Meta, for example, has removed over 2 million scam linked accounts and banned 6.6 million fraudulent accounts on WhatsApp in India alone.
The goal is to identify fake accounts more efficiently and stop scammers before they can target vulnerable users. However, the battle against these fraudsters remains challenging. As platforms introduce new security measures, scammers continuously adapt their tactics, finding innovative ways to bypass even the most advanced systems. This ongoing struggle resembles a cat-and-mouse game, where every move by the platforms is met with a countermove from those intent on deception.
Government involvement is a must. Fines and felony prison time should be mandated to deter individual crimes as well. Current false personation laws are not enough, and without greater punishment for the illegal variety of these actions, things will not improve as long as members in Congress have “bigger fish to fry” and the Supreme Court closes a blind eye.
And thus, I ask that celebrities take the time to keep fans informed. They should be taking a moment to repeat this warning regularly since warnings can be missed amid frequent posts. The majority of these scammers find their victims straight from followers on celebrity pages.
Encouraging celebrities to report and block anyone pretending to be them would go a long way toward regulating and limiting the number of false accounts being made in their name.
Since my first encounter with an imposter, I have been up to my “eyeballs” in scammers portraying themselves to be Kevin Costner, Elon Musk, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, several military generals, doctors, lawyers and God knows how many people who have won the lottery and want to share their winnings with the “unfortunate.” Those are the worst scammers. They ask for a fee (usually $100) to transfer $5K to $10K to your CashApp.
Please folks, do not fall for this, because once you pay that $100 fee, your scammer will be gone. I’d have more than 100 Teslas in my driveway if Elon Musk had delivered on all the vehicles I had “won.”
For all of us to make a difference, it takes an army. I am just one soldier reaching out across this great country with hopes to stop the madness infecting thousands of innocent victims. Victims whose only mistake was believing their idols wanted to talk to or meet them. My goal is to protect you, and others, from this ever-increasing threat to our emotions, our money and our reputations. But this fight begins and ends with all of us. Don’t be afraid to stand up and do your part.
(Katharine Russ is an investigative reporter and a former contributor to CityWatch. She can be reached at [email protected])
