Scammers On The Internet

 I've been in Dimash's fandom and hence, bouncing around social media in multiple language universes for quite a number of years and I thought I'd seen most everything.  However in the last two years, I've been experiencing the crazy waves of scammers trying anything and everything to get into fangroups, fan accounts, DMs, PMs and even replying to people's comments under artists' posts.

It all began rather predictably with scammers trying to get into the group I admin (Dimash Kudaibergen International Fan Club) and trying to sell their tshirts mugs calendars.  The team of mods and admins wasn't really sure whether or not these people actually had items for sale, although some did have spaces on sites such as Creator Spring and RedBubble.  But blocking mods and tricking people with posts they edit afterwards are not the sort of behaviour that gains friends.  It took a few months and tons of banned accounts before we stopped seeing crazy behaviour in the group.  So far, these crazies seem to have given up.  However they were amateurs compared to what came next.

I started hearing about fans chatting with 'Dimash' in private messages and surprise surprise, their Dimashes could speak fluent Spanish or colloquial American English.  Then I started hearing about these Dimashes asking for Amazon or iTunes gift cards.  Unbelievably, the fans were giving the cards.  I was astonished and decided to find out why.  It took months of talking to many people, reading up about romance scammers, watching endless YouTube documentaries about these scams... and I began to realise it was a global catastrophe.  Millions were being stolen and sent across international borders.  These criminals were not opportunists who were hanging about fan zones.  They were sophisticated swindlers, cheaters, hoaxers, charlatans who were smoothtalking their way into unsuspecting people's bank accounts.  The scam syndicates have actual psychologists who create target profiles and coach scammers on how best to gain the trust of their intended victim.  These are the WORST of the con artists because they are taking advantage of fans' love for an artist, his art, his music and life philosophy.  They weave lies and deceit into the world of innocent people.

I began understanding the vitriolic anger I sometimes see online where victims vent their anger on Dimash, calling him a cheat, a liar and a thief... they still believed the man they were chatting with was him!  Even when others told them they had been scammed, some refused to believe it.  I have even personally tried to convince a fan that she was not talking to the real Dimash because one, he doesn't speak fluent colloquial English and two, the real Dimash doesn't need fans to pay for his plane tickets or costumes.  She was adamant it was the real person and even thought that I was jealous of her connection to him.  That was really sad.  I told her to ask him to make a post on his Instagram account and use a phrase only they knew.  I never heard from her after that.

Dimash, his father (and manager) Kanat as well as their news site have made posts talking about these scams but I still hear of fans being scammed.  AI has also enabled the creating of videos where a talking Dimash head speaks words such as 'I am the real Dimash... please believe me.'  The sad thing is that a lot of Dimash's fans are not on social media and the chats between them and the scammer take place on Hangouts or WhatsApp, not social media apps.

Yesterday, DimashNews made a post about Dimash concert ticket scammer websites.  Oh my goodness, will it never end? Facebook post  

I am actually driven to make this post, hoping that fans who don't see the warnings on Dimash's Instagram and Facebook might come across this post and maybe be a bit more careful as they rove the Internet.

Stay safe, everyone!