Paul McCartney’s son James has become the latest celebrity to fall victim to a ‘fake online profiles’ scam, taking to Instagram on Tuesday to warn his fans.
The singer, 47, said he had internet profiles ‘claiming to be him’ just a day after Sandra Bullock, 60, issued a rare public statement sharing her ‘deep concern’ for her family’s safety over a similar scheme.
James posted a black and white picture of himself with the caption: ‘As I’m sure many of you have seen or indeed already experienced some interaction with, there are a number of online profiles claiming to be me, my Manager or a business representative.
‘In some instances, these FAKE accounts are encouraging you to send money with a promise to set up a “meet & greet”, “chat direct with James” or similar.
‘Please know that I only post across my verified accounts & certainly don’t offer any of the aforementioned. Remain vigilant & please do not communicate with any of these FAKE accounts / impersonators.
‘Thank you for your continued love & support – James xx ❤️’
James McCartney has become the latest celebrity to fall victim to a ‘fake online profiles’ scam, taking to Instagram on Tuesday to warn his fans
Paul McCartney’s son said he had recently seen internet profiles ‘claiming to be him’
It comes just a day after Sandra Bullock, 60, issued a rare public statement sharing her ‘deep concern’ for her family’s safety over a similar scheme
The musician, who was born in 1977 to Paul and Linda McCartney, received a string of supportive messages in the comments section, as well as words from people who claimed to have been contacted by the scammers.
The same day, BBC presenter Naga Munchetty has told of her fury after scammers posted fake nude photos of her online in a bid to con social media users out of their cash.
The 49-year-old said she had found paid advertisements on X and Facebook that included the explicit fake images to ‘trick people out of their hard-earned money’.
It comes amid claims the bogus news sites had encouraged people to invest in cryptocurrency by taking the ‘authority, integrity [and] credibility’ of trusted figures.
Speaking to BBC News, Naga said: ‘I was both mortified and bemused, curious about who would pay good money to spread such obvious nonsense. And what was their motive? Is it something malicious? Someone with an axe to grind?
‘I discussed it with my 5 Live production team, and we began to dig into it more. It soon became apparent that my name and image were being used by scammers to try to hoodwink people out of money.’
She added some of the paid-for advertisements had used ‘crudely mocked-up images’ of her ‘naked’ with her face ‘badly photoshopped onto someone else’s body’.
Fake articles had displayed adverts claiming Naga ‘didn’t know the camera was still recording’ and that she had partaken in a ‘scandalous interview’.
Naga also talked to BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham on BBC 5 Live where he said the same thing had happened to him on the Bluesky social media site.
The 49-year-old (pictured) said she had found paid advertisements on X and Facebook that included the explicit fake images to ‘trick people out of their hard-earned money’
![A fake advertisement featuring Naga Munchetty. Bogus news sites encouraged people to invest in cryptocurrency by taking the 'authority, integrity [and] credibility' of trusted figures](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/02/05/15/94890337-14363895-image-a-37_1738767667206.jpg)
A fake advertisement featuring Naga Munchetty. Bogus news sites encouraged people to invest in cryptocurrency by taking the ‘authority, integrity [and] credibility’ of trusted figures
Mr Packham described it as ‘extraordinarily offensive, and worrying’, saying he ‘loathes the idea that vulnerable people could potentially be exploited’ because of ‘some hideous scammers’.
Naga said the BBC legal department had fake websites taken down through copyright law, but added she had been ‘told another website is likely to pop up soon enough, and getting ads taken down from X has become more difficult since it changed ownership’.
A Meta spokesman said: ‘People who impersonate others on Facebook and Instagram violate our policies, and we remove this content when it’s found – like we are doing in this case.
‘We continue to invest in technology to improve our detection and enforcement against scams and work with law enforcement to prosecute scammers.’
The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has a policy of not allowing users to ‘impersonate others, misrepresent their identity to mislead or deceive others, violate our policies or to evade enforcement’. X and Bluesky have been contacted for comment.
It comes after Oscar winner Sandra had a serious scare on Monday, releasing a statement expressing her worries for her family and other innocent people being targeted by such scams, stating that anyone claiming to be her is an impersonator.
She told People: ‘My family’s safety, as well as the innocent people being taken advantage of, is my deep concern, and there will be a time when I will comment more, but for now our focus is helping law enforcement handle this matter.
‘Please be aware that I do not participate in any form of social media. Any accounts pretending to be me or anyone associated with me are fake accounts and have been created for financial gain or to exploit people around me.’
The actress — who is a mother to son Louis, 15, and daughter Laila, 11 — made the statement after her younger sister Gesine Bullock-Prado, 54, recently revealed that many people were pretending to be her on Facebook.
Gesine took to Instagram on Sunday to detail the extent of the issue, sharing screen grabs of a number of fake accounts, and writing that some people have been scammed out of thousands of dollars.
She wrote in a caption: ‘I spend multiple times a day reporting fakes, dealing with weird & scary emails to my BUSINESS and HOME from men who believe that, through one of these many fake “me’s”, they have a relationship with my sister through private messages and off app sites and have been giving (sometimes) THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS to an incredibly famous and successful grown a**ed woman.
‘When I report, i also report to a security service that gives the account addresses directly to a Meta employee.’
The Beatle’s son said: ‘As I’m sure many of you have seen or indeed already experienced some interaction with, there are a number of online profiles claiming to be me, my Manager or a business representative’
The musician was born in 1977 to Paul and Linda McCartney (pictured, right, in September)
He received a string of supportive messages in the comments section, as well as words from people who claimed to have been contacted by the scammers
Gesine claimed that the accounts ‘are run by crime rings’.
She added: ‘They also run fake groups where a fake me posts “official statements.” Not me. This is my only account and y’all know it’s about baking, cooking, animals, and gardening.’
She went on to state that she is a ‘grown a**ed middle aged woman with a life and I don’t troll around at 54 DMing people’.
Gesine added: ‘These crime rings and scams are well known by the company and the world but the fact that I’m put in danger, as is my livelihood, doesn’t mean a damn thing.’
Like Sandra, she also shared that the law enforcement have been involved in dealing with the situation.
She said: ‘If you see a fake account, are friended or messaged by one, report and block. The only reason I stay on FB is to monitor this for my own knowledge so I am aware of the danger coming at me (and yes, because of these scams, I’ve had to involve local law enforcement and they’ve been outstanding).
‘Strangely, Insta handles these things and even informs me when someone creates an account that may be an imposter. But FB? Same company with same tech? Can’t be bothered.’
She also included a reference to a recent incident where a French woman was scammed out of $800,000 by someone pretending to be Brad Pitt.
Oscar winner Sandra had an even more serious scare on Monday, releasing a statement expressing her worries for her family and other innocent people being targeted by such scams
Her younger sister Gesine Bullock-Prado (pictured, left), 54, recently revealed that many people were pretending to be her on Facebook
She took to Instagram on Sunday to detail the extent of the issue, sharing screen grabs of a number of fake accounts
The victim became the target of trolls after revealing she had parted with the money to help fund what she believed was cancer treatment for the film star.
Bird Box star Sandra adopted son Louis in 2010, followed by daughter Laila in 2015.
The actress lost her longtime partner, Bryan Randall aged 57, in August after the photographer battled Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS for three years.
Last year it was reported that the star is ‘doing okay’ and focusing on her children, following his passing.
Meanwhile, James cut a smart figure as he attended a special screening of the new Beatles ’64 film In Mayfair, London, in November.
The lookalike son of rocker legend Paul dressed cool for the event, wearing a smart geometric print black blazer.
He teamed the blazer with a casual black round-neck T-shirt and donned a pair of grey tailored trousers.
To complete his carpet look, he opted for a pair of smart suede shoes and wore a silver wristwatch as he flashed a glimpse of a smile at the cameras.
