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WWE Superstar Shayna Baszler has sent a out a warning to fans, tweeting that wrestlers don't have private accounts.
Several stories have come out recently involving fans who have been contacted by someone claiming to be their favorite wrestler. These fans are sometimes scammed out of exorbitant amounts of money.
In the wake of several incidents involving fans being "catfished" by scammers masquerading as wrestlers, Baszler sent out a blunt tweet to the WWE Universe, warning them that wrestlers don't have private or fan accounts on social media:
"I’m going to say this once. If after that, you’re dumb enough to fall for it, it’s on you: WRESTLERS DON’T HAVE SEPARATE “FAN” OR “PRIVATE” ACCOUNTS. EVER."
Almost all famous wrestlers, especially those in WWE, AEW, or NJPW, have verified accounts on social media. This means that there will be a blue-tick in front of their account name (grey tick in case of YouTube), making it easier to recognize them online.
Shayna's words might seem blunt and rude to some, but the message she put out with the tweet is important for wrestling fans to understand.
'Catfishing' is becoming a major problem lately, with scammers claiming to be WWE Superstars
Many stories of fans being catfished by fake accounts claiming to be wrestlers have surfaced over the past few years.
In April, Liv Morgan sent out a tweet where she claimed that a wrestler had sold his house after being reached out by a fake account of hers. She told her fans that she would never reach out to them for money, and she tweeted:
“A man sold his home and lost everything thinking he was helping ‘me’. This has me so sick. Please know I would never reach out to ask any of you for a single penny. I’m so sad. Please stop.”
On the November 22, 2021 episode of RAW, Seth Rollins was attacked by a fan. Sean Ross Sapp later clarified that the fan had been catfished by someone claiming to be the WWE's Monday Night Messiah online.
Now that the internet has brought wrestlers closer to their fans than ever before, it has become easier for malicious people to scam consumers. Although people who suffer through this are victims and should not be blamed, wrestlers too cannot be held accountable for such cases. It is ultimately upon the fans to stay vigilant online.
