Daniel O'Donnell has urged his army of fans to be extra vigilant in the run-up to Christmas, after it emerged the singer's name has once again been hijacked by unscrupulous fraudsters.
The veteran crooner has been targeted relentlessly over the years by online criminals looking to cash in on his fame by making bogus requests for money in his name, the Irish Mirror reports.
And now hoaxers have yet again conjured up another scam, impersonating the Donegal singer on popular messaging sites and offering fake festive deals to his followers - including VIP meet-and-greet packages and discounts to join his fan club.
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The latest fraudulent activity has been highlighted in the new edition of the Country star's eponymous fan club magazine, which warns its readers - many of who are elderly - to be on their guard.
Suzanne Fiordelisi, fan club secretary, warns: "I just want to remind and advise all fans to be aware of communicating online and on social media. We are still receiving emails from fans thinking Daniel has contacted them via WhatsApp and Messenger."
"Daniel would never be sending any direct messages via these apps, nor would Daniel be asking for money/Apple Gifts Cards or any other means of currency."
In her warning Ms Fiordelisi stresses that she runs "the only official Daniel O'Donnell fan club", before adding: "We do not offer any other rates to join the fan club, nor do we offer VIP packages nor any special membership cards. Please be aware as there are unfortunately people out there ready to act in a fraudulent manner."
The housewives' favourite, who turns 63 on Thursday, has been a prime target for online scammers in recent years.
Late last year, following the death of his mother-in-law Marion Roche, hoaxers set up a fake online page and pretended to be the singer as fans offered their condolences.
And as recently as last September, after the crooner was forced to cancel a show due to a serious chest infection, fraudsters used his illness to try and dupe money out of his unsuspecting fanbase.
That scam saw online criminals claiming to have a link to the entertainer in his hospital bed, offering fans meet-and-greet opportunities.
In recent days it was revealed by the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) that one in five regular online shoppers reported they had lost money to fraudsters over the past 12 months.
Another recent report from AIB found that fraudulent text messages were the most common scams that Irish consumers have been targeted with over the past year.
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