AI imitations of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter are reportedly stealing money from fans daily. Behind this scam are fraudsters who use generative AI, among other things, to cheat unsuspecting fans.
What have the fraudsters done? The company Spikerz, a social media security firm, reports in a blog post that many people fall victim to fraud every year. The company refers in its post to a final report from its own company. The main reason for this are primarily AI clones of well-known musicians.
In total, $5.3 billion, approximately €4.5 billion (as of 15.12.2025), is expected to have gone to criminals on social media in 2025.
The number one target of the perpetrators is Taylor Swift according to McAfee, the artist is said to have been copied the most to entangle users in scams. According to Spikerz, Sabrina Carpenter follows in second place and Billie Eilish comes in third.
Fake profiles are not the only thing AI can create. An example of this is a model that does not actually exist; more on that can be seen in the following video:
Fake tickets, merchandise, and hacked accounts are commonplace
What scams are the fraudsters using? According to Spikerz, a variety of deception methods are in circulation, so many that one in ten people becomes a victim of a scam.
Widespread, according to the company, are fake shops, which sell fake tickets or merchandise, for example. They either use fake profiles of celebrities or steal the official social media accounts of personalities to promote their deception maneuvers.
Cloned profiles of musicians like Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter are also said to be used to contact people directly via social media like X. There, fake meet and greets, fan meetings, or VIP experiences are offered. The fake content is said to be difficult to distinguish from official accounts.
Another problem is account theft. Spikerz reports that one of the larger dangers is hacked profiles, allowing fraudsters access to sensitive user data. Even a phishing link can be very dangerous for your data. What you can do after clicking a phishing link, you can find out on MeinMMO.
Official websites and ticket shops are alternatives to social media
How can I protect myself against fraud? Social media can be a danger for users; we report how to best protect yourself from scams:
- Use official shops and websites. Instead of clicking on links from social media, visit the celebrity’s website directly or use reputable ticket shops like Eventim.de or myticket.de.
- Verify information whenever possible. If you find out about a new last-minute date of a musician, check if multiple reputable sources like official websites and ticket shops confirm the date. If you only find the date on one platform even after waiting a while, be cautious.
- Inquire at the next travel agency. Most agencies allow you to buy concert tickets or ask for official information. Even if travel agencies do not sell content directly, they can often direct you to the right place.
Lastly, we recommend staying vigilant. Social media is evolving with the rise of AI, and on many platforms, it is not immediately recognizable whether content includes AI or not. Mark Zuckerberg even expects to see AI-generated content on Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg looks forward to flooding your social media feed with even more AI content
