Scam alert: Fraudsters pose as agents to the stars

Scammers have been masquerading as CAA agents, claiming to be booking tours for Justin Timberlake and Justin Bieber.

IQ has been alerted to messages sent by fraudsters from multiple random email addresses, with promoters advised to “check when something seems too good to be true”.

One set of mails also says that CAA have changed email addresses due to a data breach, which is untrue. All legitimate email addresses for CAA staff are from @caa.com. An example of a recent scam email, purporting to be from CAA’s Mark Cheatham, read as follows:

“We are thrilled to bring you an exclusive opportunity to secure dates for the upcoming *Faith* World Tour, starring global superstar and multi-Grammy Award®-winner Justin Bieber. The tour will begin on December 1st, 2024, and will wrap up on July 30th, 2025, in celebration of his latest album *Faith*.

“This announcement has not yet been made public, providing you with a rare opportunity to book your dates before the official news is released.

“Justin Bieber’s *Faith* World Tour is set to be a monumental event, with performances that will resonate with fans across the globe.

“Contact us today for more details and availability!”

Such scams are not uncommon in the touring business, with fraudsters posing as the representatives of major artists including Radiohead, Adele, Ariana Grande, System of a Down, Beyoncé, Mark Knopfler and Eminem in the past, emailing concert promoters and asking for deposits in exchange for non-existent live dates.

Elsewhere, the leader of a multi-million dollar fraud scheme in the US involving bogus music concerts was jailed for almost five years last month.

The UK’s Entertainment Agents’ Association previously issued a checklist, urging promoters to adopt the following steps if unsure of an agent’s identity:

1. Check the email address is correct – in particular the email domain – and if in any doubt call the agency to confirm it. Do not use the telephone number on the email
2. Check the artist’s website for any conflicting touring plans
3. Make sure you have full contact details of the agent with which you are working and speak to them on the phone at least once
4. Before sending a deposit, call the agency to confirm the booking and check their account details
5. Check with promoters in other markets to verify the artist is touring in that region at that time
6. If an offer is accepted and seems too good to be true, it probably is

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Read More Like This

News|13 Mar 2024

CAA promotes trio to agents

London-based Lola Castillo Murphy and Hugh Parsons, and Nashville-based Matthew Rutledge have each been elevated by the company

News|09 Apr 2024

South Africa’s Calabash festival expands, secures stars

Robbie Williams and Green Day have been revealed as Calabash South Africa's headliners for the festival’s second edition, set for January 2025

News|31 Jul 2024

Stars line up for Stephen Lawrence memorial gig

AJ Tracey, Cat Burns and Ezra Collective are among the acts set to perform at The O2 in honour of the murdered teenager