Scam alert: Fans lose thousands of dollars from fake Olivia Newton-John impersonators
Olivia Newton-John has found herself embroiled in a fraud scheme, where impersonators scam her fans out of thousands of dollars.
According to Newton-John’s publicist, a few people pretending to be the 70-year-old singer have asked fans on social media sites to donate to her cancer treatment centre, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre. These fake accounts have successfully swindled large sums of money out of fans’ pocket.
“If you get a message from anyone saying they are Olivia – this is a scam!” publicist Michael Caprio wrote on Newton-John’s official Facebook page.
“Olivia does not direct message anyone on her social media pages so, beware.”
Caprio said his team is currently working to get the fake accounts shut down.
Some fans responded that they had been approached by the scammers. “A few months ago a person pretending to be Olivia Newton-John contacted me via Messenger,” one fan commented. “I thought it was suspicious that Olivia contacted an ordinary man like me asking ‘Hi’ and ‘How are you?’”
Another fan confirmed that type of tactic is common. “They contacted me but I knew it was a scam. I also got contacted by the fake Cher and the fake Barbra Streisand.”
Have you received any suspicious message from a ‘celebrity’? Let us know about your encounters with scammers in the comments below.