“Please Don’t Fall For It”: Cody Johnson Issues Urgent Warning To Fans Over Dangerous New AI Scams

A much-needed warning these days.

As problematic as AI has gotten in the music industry over the past year from a pure artistic and ethics standpoint, highlighted primarily by a completely AI-generated “artist,” Breaking Rust, capturing the #1 spot on a Billboard country chart this past October, the concerns over artificial intelligence reach far beyond the music itself.

Of course, this is hardly a dismissal of the very real issue of AI “artists” not only stealing both streams and intellectual property from actual, human artists. With that being said, there’s yet another increasingly dangerous problem popping up lately, thanks to AI. And that, of course, is scams using artists’ likenesses.

It’s no stretch to say that scams such as these have existed as long as the internet has existed. It seems like weekly, you’ll see some story pop up about a fan giving thousands of dollars to fake accounts posing as their favorite artists. Oftentimes, however, these scams seem fairly obvious to anyone with any internet savvy and ultimately catch elderly and disabled people who may not have the capacity to distinguish the differences between these seemingly endless fake accounts that exist everywhere from Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and especially on TikTok.

As mentioned previously, the lightning-fast advancements in AI over the past year have simply opened up Pandora’s box when it comes to both disinformation in the news cycle and predatory scams. While I consider myself to be pretty in tune when it comes to distinguishing AI photos and videos, thanks in part to being constantly online due to my job here at Whiskey Riff, it’s becoming quite frightening how realistic these deep fakes have become.

In particular, a downright terrifying new face-swapping AI model, which was showcased using characters from the popular show, Stranger Things, has begun going viral on X. Though it’s still distinguishable simply due to the program using recognizable costumes/outfits worn by the actors’ characters from the show, the facial likeness and quality of the facial-tracking are nothing short of concerning.

Back to the growing concerns in the music industry regarding fans getting scammed by bad actors, one of the most disgusting stories to date occurred just weeks ago. A Central Texas resident by the name of Anthony McAlfney, who has an intellectual and developmental disability, had money stolen from him by scammers posing as both Cody Johnson and Chris Young. And, you guessed it, these scammers were using clearly AI-generated images of Johnson to aid their scheme.

McAlfney’s family eventually found out that he had lost money to the scammers (which wasn’t disclosed). They stepped in to help and more closely monitor the Central Texas man’s online activity. Since this has happened, the family and McAlfney himself have advocated for better protections for adults with disabilities who are online.

Though it’s not confirmed that this story in particular prompted it, this afternoon, Johnson and his team took to his social media accounts to give fans a warning about the rise of both scams using his likeness and pure disinformation spread about the “Dirt Cheap” singer, thanks in part to the rise of AI.

Additionally, Johnson and Co. would share a link to his website, which not only links to all of his official accounts but also gives a detailed overview of frequent scam tactics they’ve seen recently.

The full statement reads as follows:

“With today’s internet and “AI” it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between the truth and fiction. Fake images, news articles, show announcements and so much more are falsely being shared that are completely inaccurate. Our team is working tirelessly to try and remove the problems. However, at this rate it’s hard to control the sheer volume of misinformation that is being spread.

Things like this lead to upsetting, enraging and even letting down our faithful fans that have supported us throughout the years. If you see something with Cody’s name, logo or face that doesn’t come straight from his verified accounts… please don’t fall for it.  We love all of you and appreciate the love and support you’ve given us through the years.

Long live country music. – Team Cody”

As mentioned previously, we’re rapidly approaching incredibly scary times in which it’s becoming hard to distinguish the truth from fiction thanks to AI. Good on Johnson and his team for trying to do their best to help fans in a time where AI scams are just going to run even more rampant in the coming years.

Cody Johnson Tour Dates

February 6-7 – Birmingham, Alabama – Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex with Ian Munsick & Emily Ann Roberts

February 13 – Champaign, Illinois – State Farm Center with Randy Houser & Carter Faith 

February 14 – Louisville, Kentucky – KFC Yum! Center with Scotty McCreery & Carter Faith 

February 27 – Winston-Salem, North Carolina – LJVM Coliseum with Carter Faith

February 28 – Columbia, South Carolina – Colonial Life Arena with Clint Back & Carter Faith

March 6 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – PPG Paints Arena with Kip Moore & Walker Montgomery

March 7 – Baltimore, Maryland – CGF Bank Arena with Kip Moore & Walker Montgomery

March 22 – Houston, Texas – Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with Jon Pardi & Randy Houser

March 28 – Little Rock, Arkansas – Simmons Bank Arena with Kip Moore & Carter Faith

April 10 – Bossier City, Louisiana – Brookshire Grocery Arena with Kip Moore

April 24 – Indio, California – Stagecoach

May 2 – Clemson, South Carolina – Death Valley (Clemson Stadium)

May 9 – Des Moines, Iowa – Casey’s Corner

May 30 – Rosemont, Illinois – Allstate Center

July 11 – Cavendish, Prince Edward Island – Cavendish Beach Music Festival

July 17 – Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Arena with Drew Baldridge

July 18 – Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Arena with Ian Munsick & Walker Montgomery

July 25 – Jacksonville, Florida – Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena

August 8 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Paycom Center

August 22 – Knoxville, Tennessee – Food City Center

August 29 – Saint Paul, Minnesota – Grand Casinoa Arena

September 12 – Tacoma, Washington – Tacoma DomeThe post “Please Don’t Fall For It”: Cody Johnson Issues Urgent Warning To Fans Over Dangerous New AI Scams first appeared on Whiskey Riff.