As long as the internet has been up, there have been scams and fakes trying to grab easy money. The latest way for scammers to quickly amass followers on social media is by impersonating a celebrity. It has happened with Lexi Thompson and Paige Spiranac, and now another golfer has been added to the list of victims.

The latest to fall prey to the impersonation attempt is legendary golfer John Daly. ‘Long John’, as he is affectionately called, recently posted a story on his Instagram naming and shaming the account @johndaly.private, which was using the player’s photo as its display picture and using the player’s name, calling himself a ‘PGA-Pro Golfer,’ and also saying ‘Account handled by me @pga_johndaly,’ which is the Champions Tour Pro’s actual verified account.

The maverick golfer also captioned the screenshot, writing, “Not me…@Instagram get it together another imposter bots,” under which he wrote on a red background, “Report”.

His Instagram account is very active and posts about his media appearances and tournaments. He recently did a video with Bryson DeChambeau where he talked about his swing and why it was so long. He has 780,000 followers and follows 478 accounts.

As both a professional golfer now playing on the PGA Champions Tour and a colorful media personality, John Daly’s social media presence is integral to his brand. This is true for any person in the public sphere, and we have seen some recent ‘scary’ examples of this dangerous phenomenon.

Female golfers seem to be targeted

Although impersonations have become more common on social media, golf, with its niche fanbase, hasn’t suffered these incidents as much as more popular sports like soccer or basketball. However, it does have more than its fair share of scary incidents, usually targeting female golfers like Paige Spiranac and Lexi Thompson.

Lexi Thompson suffered impersonations until, in August, she took to social media to warn followers that these accounts were scamming people or making them think they had a relationship with the pro golfer. She asked followers not to engage with impersonators and assured them that she only had one verified account.

Paige Spiranac has faced several difficulties as an influencer, one of which is impersonation. She was shocked when the imposter sent a photoshopped photo of Spiranac holding an odd sign. Another female golfer who became the likeness used for the wrong reasons was Annika Sorenstam. A person who claimed to have catered to the Swedish legend was sending out messages asking for monetary assistance. Sorenstam’s husband, Mike McGee, brought it to the public’s notice and clarified that the man had no connection with the scammer.

In this era of ubiquitous digital presence, do you think this phenomenon has become normalized, or does it still strike you as extremely disturbing? Let us know in the comments.