Being a celebrity comes with its own set of disadvantages. Lexi Thompson is about to retire from golf after the conclusion of the 2024 season; however, that has not hampered her reputation in any way. Thompson rules her fandom. Her popularity has always been high-end. But the other side of the coin is considerably more terrifying. Thompson has been reached out to by people who impersonate her on social media!

Yes! Lexi Thompson has several social media followers. Her Instagram handle has crossed the 600K line. But along with her reach, several fake accounts impersonating Thompson have also surfaced at an alarming rate. These; however, are not fan pages showing support for Thompson. Instead, these are accounts that seek some questionable agendas using Thompson’s name.

Hence, shocked by the recent proceedings, Lexi Thompson could no longer hold back her frustration. On her Instagram story, she wrote, “Hi everybody! I’ve realized that there are a lot of fake accounts of people pretending to be me. They’re scamming people or making them think they’re in relationships with me. I’ve had some try to contact me in person. It’s really getting out of hand. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about these accounts. This is my only account, so, please, if you see any others, report them. Don’t talk to them!”

The former female golfer and the social media influencer, Paige Spiranac, had come across a similar horror. She, too, had warned her fans when such an incident happened. Spiranac was extremely shocked to find a picture of herself with a photoshopped sign. According to the influencer, she had been sent a photo by a stranger and the photo was clearly a screenshot from one of her older videos. Paige Spiranac claimed that in her video she had held a head cover. But the impersonator changed it into a sign that said, “I love you, baby. please don’t try to hurt me! Because I will never hurt you.”

Terrified that her persona was being used wrongly, Paige Spiranac gave fans the right way to differentiate between authentic and fake accounts.

The deciding factor of an authentic celebrity account

Whenever a fan gets approached by their favorite celebrity persona, if there’s one thing that they should look for, it is authenticity. According to Paige Spiranac, anyone can notice the number of followers that account has, and if it’s a real account, fans can easily understand it from the follower’s numbers. As per the NYPost, Spiranac stated, “Is the message coming from an account under my name that has zero followers, it is not me, that is a fake account.”

But it is not just the number of followers. Instagram or any social media has enabled a particular verified sign for awareness. Yes, it is the blue ticks next to a person’s name, a marker of an official account and authenticity. Hence, Spiranac stated, “Is the message coming from my verified account? If so, it is me.” 

As an influencer, she also holds the responsibility of making people aware of social media and to what extent it can go. Hence, she named a few more sites where her fans should not expect to meet her at all. She stated, “If this person insists on talking to you on WhatsApp or Google Hangouts, it’s not me.”

Do you think this form of cybercrime should get more notice from authorities? Have you ever come across such a fake account? Let us know in the comments below.