What is a Celebrity Impersonation scam (Valerie Cossette)?

A celebrity impersonation scam involves fraudsters pretending to be famous personalities to deceive people into sending money, sharing personal information, or clicking on malicious links. These scams often take place on social media platforms, through email, or via messaging apps. Scammers create fake accounts or hack into existing ones, posing as celebrities to seem credible.

In this variation of a celebrity impersonation scam, we received a report of multiple fake users pretending to be Valerie Cossette on multiple social media platforms. The image shown here is Valerie Cossette’s official Instagram username and official X username — any other variation is most likely a scammer.

How can you stay safe?

To avoid falling victim to these scams, always verify celebrity profiles through verified social media badges and be skeptical of any direct requests for money or personal details. Additionally, official communication from public figures is usually conducted through legitimate and verified channels.

If someone reaches out to you pretending to be Valerie Cossette and it does not come from either of these 2 accounts, it is best practice to block and ignore the individual.