One or more individuals have been fraudulently posing as officials from “The Drew Barrymore Show” in attempts to scam talent and other guests involved with the star’s talk show, Variety can report exclusively.
The ruse, which did not originate from the syndicated series or its producer CBS Media Ventures and Paramount Global, has been flaunting “paid opportunities” for prospective guests and attempting to arrange social media efforts like Facebook broadcasts. According to three sources, some vendors of the show have been solicited for invoices, which included requests for personal banking information. The issue was escalated to legal affairs and the IT department at corporate parent Paramount Global in recent days.
The talent booking team at “The Drew Barrymore Show” began notifying celebrity representatives across the industry about the matter on Friday.
“It has recently come to our attention that one or more individuals have fraudulently been holding themselves out to be connected with ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ and soliciting participation in Facebook Lives and other ‘paid opportunities.’ These solicitations seem to be coming from various mock emails containing some part of the ‘Drew Barrymore’ name,” the memo going out to publicists and agents read. Another source noted that upcoming guests on the talk show (and many others like it) are public information for fans seeking tickets, which often leads to such cons.
Insiders familiar with the series said that the scammers have been using Google Mail accounts to reach out, and that all official communications from “The Drew Barrymore Show” are sent from the Paramount Global server. One individual with knowledge of the scam said a male posing as a show producer set and held meetings on the show’s behalf.
Currently in its fourth season, “The Drew Barrymore Show” recently welcomed guests including Maya Rudolph and Kristen Stewart. Barrymore, Hollywood royalty and a star of the “Charlie’s Angels” franchise, is not the only talk show host turned fraud target in recent months.
In January, “Watch What Happens Live!” host Andy Cohen appeared on the Today Show to share a harrowing experience of ID fraud at his personal bank. Cohen said imposters pretending to reconcile his lost debit card wound up bilking a significant amount of money from his accounts. While he didn’t disclose a dollar amount, Cohen said it was “enough that I’m on the Today Show.”
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