Scammers Are Pretending To Be Shaggy And Asking For Money
Famously, it wasn't him.
Despite his biggest single now being 20 years in the rear-view mirror, Shaggy has been much busier than you may have initially thought.
He’s put out several studio albums — the most recent of which dropped back in May — and he’s been a part of some big collaborations with everyone from Major Lazer to Sting (yes, that actually happened). He’s been touring a lot, too — in fact, he’ll be back in Australia this coming January for One Love festival and a huge co-headlining tour with fellow dancehall veteran Sean Paul.
One thing he hasn’t been doing, however, is sending messages to his fans and demanding money off them. Turns out a series of fake social media profiles pretending to be Mr. Boombastic himself have been trying to scam fans of the singer — and Shaggy has caught them red-handed.
“It has come to my attention that there have been posts online from people purporting to be me and hitting up my fans for money while making false claims that they owe me something,” the singer posted in a statement via Instagram.
“I would like to make it clear that these are nothing more than an internet scam.”
He adds that the messages “are not from me, nor do they represent me in any way”. There’s gotta be a shorter, snappier, catchier way to say that… just can’t think of it off the top of my head.
Anyway, the singer wants to tell those affected that he’s sorry for the pain that the scammers have caused. He won’t be listening to their reasoning, for it makes no sense at all. They may think that they’re players, but they’re completely lost.
“My best advice is to please not engage with these fake accounts,” the singer advises. “Thank you. One love to all my wonderful fans.”
Thanks for clearing that up, Shaggy. See you in January, in which we’ll have consensually given you money in order to watch you perform. Maybe the girl next door will be there, too.
Read the full statement and revisit the classic that is “It Wasn’t Me” below.