"Kenny Chesney Scammers" | Welcome to the Sandbar

Watch out for those that pose to be Kenny Chesney…

Fans have been sharing with us on our social media accounts, that recent encounters with scammers masquerading as popular country superstars are becoming way to common.

Many times we get information from a Kenny fan telling us that Kenny is contacting them via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even e-mail and they are asking us if it is really him. We can tell you without a shadow of a doubt Kenny Chesney is NOT contacting any of his No Shoes Nation members directly. Why is this such a problem and why do people pretend to be Kenny Chesney? People get lonely. It may be that they don’t have a huge circle of friends, and they might feel that they’re going to attract people if they pretend to be something they’re not. Celebrities have a status, so by adopting that persona, they can quickly generate attention. But the next biggest reason people pretend to be Kenny might be to gain your trust and to then try to scam you, get your personal info to steal your private information or even ask for money. Clearly, the threat of running into a bogus celebrity Facebook profile isn’t limited to the world of country music it happens with many celebrities.

Here are some tips to keep you on the straight and narrow:

When connecting with celebrities, use their official verified social media account. Look for the little blue checkmark — called a verified badge — to know who you’re dealing with.
Report the scammer to the social media platform you get contacted from FB, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Block any user accounts from which a scam is coming.
Know that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is!
The celebrity scam exploits the name of a well known person and tries to get you to pay the scammer. Sometimes it’s even a bogus message supposedly for example… Kenny Chesney wanting to give you some cash, if you’ll just pay an upfront fee. Or how about this latest, sneaky version: You get a message purportedly from Kenny, inviting you to help him hide some of his money from his management team. All untrue of course.
The scammer generally cannot claim the Name ‘Kenny Chesney”, so they will add a # to the account name or spell the name incorrectly… examples (Kennychesney 234) or (Kenneth A Chesney) or (Kenney Chesney).

Then there is Click Baiting…

“Click baiting” is a way to get someone’s attention online. Many advertisers use it, but so do scammers. They engage with potential identity theft victims by offering something that is too intriguing to ignore: messages claiming new videos, “shocking” information or scandalous news on celebrities, news makers and other famous people.
Many consumers are unaware of the risks that exist when searching for celebrity and entertainment news. Often, the click bait leads to a sketchy website or a link that downloads malware on the user’s computer or smart phone.

The Newest Craze with I Tunes Cards…

We must get at least 2 people a month contact us saying they were scammed via sending these fake Kenny’s ITunes gift cards. This is their latest method to scam Kenny’s fans. To convince you to pay them via an ITunes card. They might pretend to be Kenny Chesney or a member of his team. They either need your help fast or promise you a meet and greet or back stage pass. But as soon as you put money on a card and share the code with them, the money’s gone for good. There is NO way to track it either. To complain to the Kenny’s team is futile… this is happening with every celebrity out there. We as fans have to be smarter and understand that Kenny will never contact us needing his help… that is just a plain and simple fact.

What Can The No Shoes Nation Do To Avoid Getting Scammed:

We can do our part by being vigilant in practicing safe online behavior. BBB and McAfee recommend the following:

Don’t download videos from suspect sites. Most news clips you’d want to see can easily be found on official video sites and don’t require you to download anything.
Beware of clicking on third party links. You should access content directly from official websites for the latest news or content about Kenny. Keep in mind… Welcome To The Sandbar is an approved avenue for Kenny’s publicist to send all his press releases. As soon as we get a press release, just like a radio station, magazine or new center, we put that info immediately on our website and all our social media pages. No need to Google it.
Always use password protection on your phone and other mobile devices. If you don’t and your phone is lost or stolen, anyone who picks up the device could have access to your personal information online.
Only become Social Media friends with people you personally know.
We started Welcome To The Sandbar for us to have a safe fun place to communicate with other No Shoes Nation fans. Try not to post all the “Kenny” related stuff on your personal pages for the scammers to know you are a big fan… that is another way you can become a target. Just share your “Kenny” stuff with other fans using Kenny’s website or pages like Welcome To The Sandbar.
You are more likely to become a target if you have Kenny’s picture as your cover photo or your profile picture on your social media accounts. Scammers are out looking for targets and that draws in their attention. Those pictures should be of you and your family not of Kenny Chesney.
Searching Kenny on the internet will draw attention to yourself too. The scammer then knows you are an avid fan and they can use that to their advantage when contacting you.
We are also discoving that the scammers target fans that frequent Kenny’s real FB, Twitter or Instagram pages. If you comment often on those pages you may stand out as an over the top fan. The scammer may contact you pretending to need your help or promise you a meet and greet because you are a super fan and they “apreciate” you.

With all this info we hope we have helped you navigate away from the crazy people out there that pretend to be Kenny Chesney.

Be Careful Out There,

Connie and Michelle