• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 2, 2018

Country music artists like Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, and a slew of others have united to warn fans about impostors on social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The artists got together to publish a public service announcement to alert fans of fraud on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. They are reminding fans to look for the blue checkmark by their names to verify authenticity and have the ability to spot fake accounts.

Increasingly people are pretending to be artists on social media, tricking fans into buying fake tickets to private shows. They ask fans to send money, donate to charities, and request personal information.

Sometimes social media users will log into their account and search on an artist's name and follow the first one that returns in the search results, though it may not have a verified symbol next to the account.

“This is my secret account that management don’t know anything about, complete bullshit,” Urban said in the PSA, referring to fake accounts bearing his name. “That’s not me.”

The real Keith Urban is not @keithurban487. Blake Shelton does not use @blakeyshelton. Kelly Clarkson does not use @kellyclarksonabc123. Rascal Flatts are not @rascalflatt. Jake Owen does not use @Jake3367177946.

The artists just want to set the record straight -- and they “have not and will not ever ask you for your personal information or anything like that.”

The PSA, along with a website, cautions fans when they see something, report it. Each of the social media sites, from Facebook and Twitter to Instagram have a page in which users can report imposter. The website for the PSA offers links to each at the bottom of the page.