This review was requested by a supporter of Fake Website Buster.
Website Name
foofightersmembership.vercel.app (no longer active)
Website Type
Fake Foo Fighters Website
Is Foo Fighters Tour Membership Fake or Real?
Fake
Why is Foo Fighters Tour Membership Fake?
A supporter of Fake Website Buster sent me a request to review foofightersmembership.vercel.app (no longer active) with the following message:
https://foofightersmembership.vercel.app. Link was posted from private chat w/ “band member” and the membership is not being offered through the usual band website.
They contacted me first by commenting on my FB post, then moved to FB Messenger. Then they moved it over to google chat. Google chat email is natemendelmusic@gmail.com. FB username is ‘Nate Mendel’ and the messenger header says ‘Nate Mendel Business Chat’.
As per the background provided, it seems that the website is a trap to extract money from Foo fighters fans under the guise of obtaining a ‘membership’ to go on tour with the Foo Fighters. When I checked the website link provided, I found that the site was a poor copy of the official Foo Fighters website.
The fake website displayed the below message prominently with a fake offer for fans to go on tour with the band by paying $10,000:
The Fans of Foo Fighters! Get a chance to go on 10 dates travel tour with your favourite band “Foo Fighters” for just $10,000. Send a message with the theme “10 DATES TRAVEL TOUR” to foofightersc@membershipconsultant.xyz
The email ID provided is clearly not an official Foo Fighters email address. Upon further inspection, I found that the website ‘membershipconsultant.xyz’ does not even exist as it is simply a parked domain.
I further looked into this by visiting the Foo Fighters’ official social media pages to check whether they actually have tour memberships for fans. I came across the below warning on their Instagram page which cautions fans against paying people claiming to represent the band.
We’ve heard from several fans who have fallen victim to these impersonation scams and lost tens of thousands of dollars. Although the bait varies (such as pretending to be avoiding their “team” by opening a “private chat” account) the goal is still the same: To take your money and run. Foo Fighters are far from the only celebrities whose names are being used to defraud sincere fans, so much of this information is applicable to everyone.
No member of Foo Fighters, nor any organization claiming to represent them, nor any “assistants”, will ever DM you offering private experiences in exchange for money. NEVER transfer any funds, no matter what is being said.
Some basic tips:
- Cross-reference with the band’s verified accounts. For instance, here are the only official band-related accounts on Instagram: @foofighters @studio666movie @davestruestories @taylorhawkinsofficial @shifty71 @natemendel @theramilama @joshfreese @backbeatbbq @soundcitymovie (Pat does not have any known accounts)
- Don’t engage in any way, even for amusement
- Don’t believe claims about why an account has an unusual username or bio
- Check if posts and captions have been copied verbatim from an official/verified profile
- On Instagram: Go to their profile, tap the three small dots on the top right-hand side, and select “About this Account” from the menu. This will give you the date when the account was created and the number of times they have changed their username, which suggests they are regularly altering their account
- Use the reporting function to flag their account, then block
Just because the scam account says “official” somewhere, it doesn’t mean anything – especially if they are brand new with followers in the double digits!
If you have already lost funds to an impersonation scammer, contact your bank and flag the transaction(s). Unfortunately you’re unlikely to get your money back, but your bank can assist you in adding further safeguards to your financial details.
Please feel free to share this post with fellow fans and get the word out. Look out for one another!
@foofighterslive on Instagram (25-Sep-23)
This makes it quite obvious that the Foo Fighters Tour Membership is a scam and that fans should not pay anyone claiming to represent the band money for private meet-and-greets, crypto investment deals, charity donations or prize giveaways. If someone approaches you online, either claiming to be from Foo Fighters or other prominent bands, you can be sure that it is a scam.
How to Get Your Money Back from a Scam
Remember: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
To read about other Misc. Scams, click here.
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If you have been the victim of a courier scam, you can take the following steps:
- Lodge a cybercrime complaint online or with the local police office
- File a complaint with the payment portal and ask whether the payment can be reversed
- Leave a negative review on review portals such as Scamadviser, TrustPilot, OnlineThreatAlerts and SiteJabber
- Give a low rating to the website on Web of Trust. You can also install their extension for the same
- Report the scam site to web filtering companies.
Disclaimer: This review is intended for information only and should not be relied on when making financial or business decisions. If you are a website owner and would like to provide clarifications regarding your business and/or website, please get in touch using the Contact Form.