Fraudster posing as Daniel trying to scam fans of cash
FANS of ‘Wee Daniel’ are being warned about a wee bit of fraud being carried out by an imposter using his name.
The fraudster has been posing as Daniel O’Donnell on instant messaging service WhatsApp and sending bogus requests for charity donations.
The veteran crooner’s fan club magazine warned: ‘There is currently a person on WhatsApp using an image of Daniel and his name “Daniel O’Donnell”, who is looking for a donation online for seemingly charitable purposes.’
The warning continued: ‘Please be aware that this is not Daniel, as Daniel never messages his fans on WhatsApp, and as this person is using Daniel’s image to try and get money from unsuspecting followers, this is regarded as fraud. Anyone who gets a message from this “rogue Daniel” needs to report it immediately through WhatsApp – as there is an option to do so – to block this person.
‘Please also be aware that Daniel never goes on Messenger via Facebook, so if you see anything up there which looks like it has come or is coming from Daniel, it’s not.’
It’s not the first time the 56-year-old’s profile has been hijacked by conmen. Just last year the singer took to Facebook to set the record straight after hackers tried to set up a bogus account using his name. And earlier this year, the singer’s older sister, Margo O’Donnell, also fell victim to cruel social media scammers, who used her Facebook page in an effort to con money from members of her fanbase by pretending it would fund an orphanage.
Meanwhile, with Daniel preparing to kick off a pre-Christmas tour of Ireland next month, fans have also been warned not to buy concert tickets from unofficial websites.
His fan club magazine added: ‘In recent times we have heard from fans who have unwittingly paid exorbitant prices for Daniel’s concert tickets. Because these sites operate on the internet, it’s a worldwide problem, and practically impossible to police. Please be aware that you should only ever buy Daniel tickets through official outlets.’