Imposter Posing As Alan Jackson Scams Woman Out Of $3,000 In Gift Cards
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Georgia Woman Tricked By Alan Jackson Imposter Scam
An imposter pretending to be country music legend Alan Jackson recently scammed a 76-year-old Georgia woman out of nearly $3,000 in gift cards.
According to The Augusta Chronicle, the scam started in June 2024 when the unnamed woman expressed concern for Jackson’s health in a post on Facebook. 66-year-old Jackson has legitimately been diagnosed with Charcot-Marie Tooth Disease, a disorder that causes nerve damage.
After publishing her Facebook post, the woman was contacted by someone who introduced themselves as Jackson’s manager, named Baker. Then, “Baker” put the woman in touch with “Jackson” so they could communicate directly.
The imposter posing as Jackson told the woman he needed money to pay his bills. He said his assets were frozen because he was in the middle of a divorce.
Just to ease any worries, the real Alan Jackson and his beautiful wife, Denise, are doing perfectly fine. They celebrated their 45th anniversary in December 2024.
Believing she connected with the real Alan Jackson, the woman started sending the scammer Apple gift cards in October 2024. Over the next few months, she sent him 36 gift cards totaling $2,917.50.
The scam was eventually brought to the attention of the local authorities. A deputy contacted the woman to learn more about the situation on December 30. That’s the latest update in the case as of press time.
How Can You Spot Celebrity Imposters Online?
Unfortunately, these types of scams are common…and successful.
For example, one Massachusetts woman drained her bank accounts and sent $350,000 to a con artist pretending to be Vince Gill. Just recently, a California woman lost her “life savings” after sending thousands of dollars to someone impersonating actor Keanu Reeves.
The imposter scams are so rampant that country singers such as Dwight Yoakam and the late Toby Keith have felt compelled to warn fans about them.
Alan Jackson’s team has also tried to warn fans about imposter scams. In 2022, his team shared a message on his official social media pages telling fans how to recognize his authentic accounts.
“Alan Jackson’s pages are all assigned a blue checkmark by his name which means the profile has been verified,” they wrote. “If there is no blue checkmark, it is NOT Alan!“
From Alan’s Team: Alan Jackson’s pages are all assigned a blue checkmark by his name which means the profile has been verified. If there is no blue checkmark, it is NOT Alan!
â Alan Jackson (@OfficialJackson) August 5, 2022
After news of the latest scammer impersonating Jackson went public, his team shared another warning on social media. They said, “Alan, his manager, or his management team will never message you from a social media direct message or phone number asking for money, gift cards, or meeting in person.”
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Looking for the blue checkmark next to a celebrity’s name on social media is one of the best ways to separate the real star from their many imposters. Also, keep the following in mind:
- Celebrities rarely, if ever, communicate directly with fans. If they do, they do so from their official, verified account with a blue checkmark.
- Celebrities will not ask you to send them money or gift cards.
- Impersonators often mimic a celebrity’s official social media pages. They copy their profile photos, posts, and names, but their names may have slight misspellings or random numbers/symbols. For example, someone pretending to be Alan Jackson may display their username as Allan Jackson or alanjackson1. Again, look for the blue checkmark that verifies a celebrity’s page as legitimate.
- Not all celebrities or public figures have a blue checkmark. In that case, checking the follower count can be another way to help you spot an imposter. For example, if someone claiming to be “Alan Jackson” only has 200 followers, it’s safe to assume that page is not legitimate. (The real Alan Jackson has over 5.6 million followers on Facebook).
- If you spot or interact with a celebrity impersonator online, please report their posts/comments/pages to the platform you’re on.
To learn more about how to recognize celebrity imposters online, head below to watch a PSA some of country music’s biggest stars shared in 2018.
