Poison singer Bret Michaels is the latest artist to lash out against criminals pretending to be famous people on social media in attempts to pry money from fans.

Michaels made a video addressing the issue from inside his car and uploaded it to YouTube.

"To all my family, friends and fans, I just wanted to say please be aware of the epidemic going on during this pandemic," he said in the clip. "It is unbelievable the amount of Bret Michaels imposters out there reaching out to my amazing fans, friends and family, and trying to scam them. I'm telling all of you during this pandemic - people are feeling frustrated, isolated and vulnerable - please do not fall for these scumbags. I'm taking this minute right now to tell you how serious I take this - that we're going to work with Dr. Phil to help people that have been victimized by these scumbags. So please, everyone, be aware."

You can watch the video below.

Last month, Eagles and Whitesnake's David Coverdale issued similar statements after learning people were posing as them. Both artists said they would never contact fans individually and ask for money and personal information, and stressed that only posts that come with a blue checkmark next to their name represented official artist statements.

Eagles also recommended alerting any suspicious activity to the platform's moderators.

Look to the Stars, a website devoted to the philanthropic works of celebrities, has a page devoted to how to spot scams and phishing attempts by fake celebrities claiming to raise money for charity. In addition to looking for the blue checkmark and reporting the activity to the FBI, the organization suggests checking out various websites to determine if a nonprofit is legitimate.

 

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