A 75-year-old Journey fan in Cleveland, Ohio was scammed out of $122,000 by a scammer on the internet pretending to be ex-frontman Steve Perry, WKYC reported.
The woman responded to a message on Facebook from someone claiming to be the band’s former lead singer. The Westlake police reported that the “fake Mr. Perry had a business opportunity and of course ‘needed a woman in life.’”
Over the next several months, the woman sent the fake Perry $72,000 via wire transfers to “various persons in various different states, designated by ‘Perry,’ through her bank” as well as $50,000 in gift cards.
The woman realized she was being scammed after the Perry imposter got more aggressive, demanding pictures of passports and driver’s license. She eventually went to the police and was instructed to report the scam to her bank and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
The police are currently still attempting to track down the scammer.
READ MORE: 80s rock legend plagued by impersonators. It’s ‘really starting to piss me off.’
Journey isn’t the only band that has had to deal with scammers impersonating their band members. Earlier this year, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott released a video warning fans to stay vigilant against online imposters who he said was “really starting to piss (him) off.”
“I don’t need your money, okay? I would never, ever ask you for money because my wife’s divorcing me or my leg fell off or I need a glass eye,” Elliott said in the video. “It’s complete and utter horses----. Anyone who sends you an email claiming that they’re me or they’re gonna take you on a date or… I don’t know, my house fell over, it’s not true!”
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Saleah Blancaflor may be reached at sblancaflor@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @saleyley and Instagram.