If country music used to be about trucks, dogs, and heartbreak… well, welcome to the 2025 remix: trucks, dogs, and a scammer pretending to be your favorite country hunk whispering “hey sweetheart” in your inbox.
And seniors are getting hit especially hard.
That’s what happened to 67-year-old Roxanne Santos of Homosassa, Florida, whose story was first reported by WLTX News 19.
She thought Cooper Alan — the young country singer who built his fanbase on TikTok — had reached out to her personally.
It started with a message: “Hey sweetheart, it’s Cooper Alan.”
Then came a photo of “Cooper” holding a sign with her name on it. That’s the part that hooked her.
“The sign got me… I’m 67, and a young man’s writing to me,” she told WLTX.
Over the next few weeks, “Cooper” sent videos calling her “sweet Roxanne,” talking like a boyfriend, and promising her a VIP meet-and-greet if she just covered the “FedEx delivery fee.”
She paid $103.
Then came more invented fees.
Then a fake story about a FedEx truck accident.
Then a photo of a crash — one her husband quickly discovered was from... 2024.
It wasn’t Cooper Alan.
It wasn’t even close.
The New Nashville Romance Scam
This kind of setup is becoming common, and scammers know country stars have a uniquely loyal — and often older — fanbase.
They also know seniors are more likely to answer polite messages, trust official-looking graphics, or simply enjoy the attention.
The FTC says impersonation scams against seniors have soared in the last five years, and the bad guys are now using AI-generated images and videos to close the deal.
USF researcher Larry Hall told WLTX that the fake “Cooper” video Roxanne received showed classic signs: stretched neck, distorted hands, movements that don’t match speech.
To an untrained eye, especially on a phone?
Looks real enough.
Why Seniors Are Being Targeted
Cliff Steinhauer of the National Cybersecurity Alliance summed it up plainly:
- Seniors tend to be trusting.
- Many don’t know how today’s AI scams work.
- They usually have retirement savings.
- Scammers recognize loneliness — and exploit it.
Romance scams, celebrity scams, and “your favorite singer wants to meet you” scams all weaponize the same thing: connection.
The Country-Music Red Flags
Here’s the Nashville-edition safety checklist:
- A real artist will never DM you privately for money, meetings, or “exclusive access.”
- No celebrity uses Zangi, WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal to run their fan interactions.
- No meet-and-greet requires FedEx fees, VIP cards, or “manager” contacts.
- AI videos often look a little off: hands glitchy, eyes too still, face slightly rubbery.
And the big one: If he’s a famous country singer and he calls you sweetheart before you’ve even met? It’s a scammer punching emotional buttons.
What to Do If the “Singer” Shows Up in Your Inbox
- Don’t reply.
- Block the account.
- Report it to the Federal Trade Commission.
- If money was sent, contact your bank or PayPal immediately.
- Turn on two-factor authentication on every account you have.
- Warn friends — especially those who are fans of the same artist.
The bottom line is simple
If your “favorite singer” texts you out of the blue, just remember the new rule:
If it’s got a truck, a dog, and a singer sweet-talkin’ you for cash, it ain’t a love song — it’s a scam.
