Sir Tom Jones has attracted legions of fans over the years thanks to hits like She's a Lady and Delilah, as well as appearances on The Voice. However, on Friday, he was forced to issue a warning to his fanbase following a cruel scam.
After becoming aware of people impersonating the Welsh singer and scamming his fans out of money, Tom and his management took to social media to share a statement. Over a black screen, a message read: "Regrettably, it has come to our attention there are many fake online profiles impersonating Sir Tom Jones and/or his team, who are attempting to scam fans and members of the public.
"Sir Tom DOES NOT personally or directly communicate to individuals via his social channels. If a fake profile tries to chat to you privately, report and block them. This will NOT be Sir Tom Jones or his team."
The message concluded: "It is sad and disheartening to hear of these scammers attempting to trap and abuse vulnerable people, so please be careful and stay safe online."
© InstagramFans thanked the star for the post, with one saying: "I have reported and blocked many fake profiles unfortunately. Best advice is don't interact with them," while a second added: "Thank you for the warning, Sir Tom. There are so many fakes, an incredible number. I see so many every day. But we will not be beaten by them! You are the real deal, that's all that matters!"
Sadly, this isn't the first time that scammers have impersonated the star in order to target his fans, with the singer having to share a similar message in November 2024.
Other targets
Scammers often target the fans of notable personalities, with actor Robson Green having to issue a warning to his own followers last May. Robson said at the time: "Nothing says 'I have a life' quite like spending hours creating a fake account just to masquerade as someone else trying to scam money out of people.
"Honestly, I'd give these folks an award for their dedication to weirdness, but I think even that would be too weird."
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockHe then joked: "If you're going to impersonate me, at least try to get creative—maybe add a unicorn ironing a plum. Something that matches the level of bizarre you're going for. But really I'd prefer a little originality over the whole 'creepy copycat' routine. Keep trying — maybe one day you'll get it right, or at least come up with a new hobby. #fakeaccountalert."
On their website, the National Fraud Helpline explains why criminals attempt to impersonate celebrities in order to dupe their fans. "Celebrities have always been used to endorse products to induce people to buy, whether on television or radio adverts or, more recently, on the internet," they say.
"This has opened up a lucrative route for scammers to dupe unsuspecting members of the public into parting with cash by using bogus celebrities to front their campaigns. Celebrity scams are particularly dangerous because we have a natural trust in our favourite stars. And scammers use that trust to con innocent people out of their money."
