Tag Archives: scam

I AM 78 YEARS OLD AND I AM ENGAGED TO PIERO OF IL VOLO by Daniela

On April 29, on the show LE IENE, a report was aired that once again took stock of the situation of FAKE PROFILES that take advantage of unsuspecting people to take MONEY from them.
The report is hosted by Veronica Ruggeri and Piero Barone is involved in the scam!!
Even though with great regret, because these things MUST NOT happen, I firmly publish this video because we must disseminate these SCAMS as much as possible in order to alert as many people as possible!!!
Thanks to LE IENE for their excellent service!
MAN= She still believes that he is the real Piero Barone, he made her all kinds of promises.
AMALIA= I have definitely spoken to him, I am absolutely convinced.
VERONICA= This sweet lady is called Amalia, she is 78 years old and lives in Palermo (Sicily) and for 6 months she has been convinced that she is the girlfriend of Piero who is 31 years old and is a famous singer all over the world. (in the video: Piero singing Grande Amore)
Yes, Piero Barone from Il Volo.
AMALIA= You are the right woman for me (phrase that the fake Piero allegedly said to her).
MAN= “Auntie, look, Piero Barone is young, he has money and will NEVER ask for money”…….but we can’t convince her!
VERONICA= Mrs. Amalia is the victim of an emotional or romantic-sentimental scam as one might say, one of those scams that have become increasingly widespread in recent years, which first strike the HEART and then empty the WALLET.
Mrs. Amalia has been a widow for 9 years now and since she lost her beloved husband she has not had a partner in her life.
MAN= No, no, nothing, she has always been faithful, very faithful.
VERONICA= At a certain point what happens?
MAN= We saw that the aunt was posting videos of Piero Barone…..
VERONICA= Several videos, and not because she is just a fan, but because a FAKE profile that pretends to be Piero Barone, this one (the profile in the photo), hooked her up 6 months ago and since then she has been convinced she is messaging the famous singer every day.
In fact, listen to how she talks about him on the phone with a dear friend of hers:
AMALIA= “He’s so polite, he’s ashamed, I swear to you….”
MAN= He promised to take her to America to some of his concerts.
AMALIA= He takes me on tour with him.
MAN= And he makes her understand that a certain type of relationship can be established, even a sentimental one.
AMALIA= He wants to marry me one day.
AMALIA ‘S FRIEND (on the phone) = With all the women he has, does he prefer someone like you?”
AMALIA= Because girls are only looking for money, he told me.
MAN= He even suggested phone sex.
AMALIA= He wants to make love, he wants to have sex.
VERONICA= And when friends and family, who luckily Amalia immediately confided in, tried to open her eyes…..
MAN= Auntie, you see that it’s FALSE!!
VERONICA= She reacted like this:
MAN= No, it’s true!
AMALIA= I’m sure it’s him, 100%.
AMALIA’S FRIEND (on the phone) = Amalia, let’s not get our hopes up about all these things.
BE CAREFUL!!
AMALIA = At this point, I have nothing to lose.
VERONICA = Instead, she has lost, indeed! Because the person behind this FAKE profile is a professional scammer who did all this just to get money from her.
MAN = Her children saw these transfers and asked her: Mom, what are you doing?
And she: I’m making payments to Piero Barone because he wants to invite me to one of his concerts, I have to make payments because he has to give me the VIP CARD.
VERONICA = Obviously there is no VIP CARD, but Mrs. Amalia doesn’t know this and agrees to pay.
MAN= More than 2,000 euros (about 2,000 dollars) the last payments were made two days ago of 30 euros each…
VERONICA= For a lady who lives only on her pension.
MAN= She lives on her pension. Let’s say it’s a criminal organization.
VERONICA= A criminal organization that with only the smartphone and writing with the help of automatic translators, deceives and defrauds hundreds, thousands of people all over the world every day.
MAN= Even the tobacconist told her: “Madam, don’t make these payments, they’re fake.”
There was no reason, she goes to the tobacconist at 8:40 in the morning and it’s the first thought she has in the morning.
VERONICA= She’s really in love!
MAN= She’s in love.
VERONICA= And it’s no coincidence that the victims are often people who are a bit lonely.
MAN= She has our affection, maybe she misses what Piero Barone FALSE is making her relive, from when she was young.
VERONICA= But she just can’t go on like this.
MAN= The only attempt that can be made is to have her video call the real Piero Barone, because only he can dismantle this thing, no one else can do it. It’s the only hope.
VERONICA= First of all, let’s get some sweets for Amalia, also to make the revelation that awaits her less bitter in some way.
How these things make me nervous, to death.
(Veronica and the television crew enter Amalia’s house)

MAN= Auntie, let me introduce you to a friend of mine, her name is Veronica.
VERONICA= Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Veronica, I brought her some sweets.
AMALIA= There was no need!
VERONICA= Of course not, come on!
Amalia gets the tablecloth…..
I’ll help her then….
AMALIA= There’s no need, don’t worry.
Eh old age….
VERONICA= Old age? How old is she?
AMALIA= 7 – 8.
VERONICA= 78 years old, but still in great shape.
AMALIA= Well, anyway!
VERONICA= We explain to her that we are there because her family, a large and beautiful family, is a little worried about her.
Do you know why?
She immediately anticipates us:
AMALIA= Anyway, I blocked everything.
VERONICA= She claims to have already blocked the numbers of the FAKE Piero Barone, but only to make her children and grandchildren happy.
AMALIA= I am convinced that I definitely spoke to him, I am absolutely convinced of it.
VERONICA= Often children and grandchildren do not know how to help, because when a person is experiencing love, it is difficult to make them understand that this story can hurt them so much.
Were you in love?
AMALIA= Yes! I say it!
VERONICA= But this is beautiful.
AMALIA= I’m telling the truth.
VERONICA= What did this person here tell you?
AMALIA= That he loved me, that he wanted to take me to his country, he wanted to take me to Paris, he made me go with him to concerts and he made me go on stage.
VERONICA= Behind all these dreams there are constant requests for money.
When was the last time you gave him money?
AMALIA= Last week, maybe. Lately he wanted to make me a passport and so I had to pay for this passport.
VERONICA= But to go where?
AMALIA= To Paris.
VERONICA= To visit him during a concert?
AMALIA= No, no, with him.
VERONICA= The romantic getaway??
AMALIA= Yes, yes!
VERONICA= You liked the young man, huh?
AMALIA= Eh, yes!
VERONICA= You understood!!
Also because he told her:
AMALIA= “I want to marry an older woman because she gives me more love, you are the right woman for me!”
VERONICA= But fortunately Mrs. Amalia does have some doubts about this whole story.
AMALIA= Also because he made me so many promises but didn’t keep them.
VERONICA= What promises did he make you?
AMALIA= That he came here, he came to Palermo and he had to come to me. He didn’t come because he always wanted money.
VERONICA= But do you think Piero Barone needs our money??
AMALIA= No! In fact I even told him: “You send it to me!”
VERONICA= Good!! Good.
The attitude seems right to us and so the time has come.
Now I have a surprise for you!
Amalia has already understood everything and in fact laughs and worries about making a good impression.
AMALIA= If I had known, I would have put a nicer tablecloth! (laughter)
VERONICA= Everything is ready, all we have to do is call Piero Barone, the real one, the only one who can really convince Amalia once and for all to stop wasting time and money on those SCAMMERS. (The video call with Piero begins.)
PIERO= Veronica!?
VERONICA= Hello!
PIERO= How are you?
VERONICA= I’m very well, I’m here with a friend of mine, her name is Amalia.
PIERO= Hi Amalia! Nice to meet you.
AMALIA= Hi Piero, nice to meet you.
VERONICA= Amalia, since last October, has been writing to a person who says they are you, so since October she’s been convinced she’s in a relationship with you.
PIERO= Wow! So, I know about these things.
It’s something that unfortunately has been going around a lot lately, IT’S ONLY PEOPLE WHO PRETEND, WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHER PEOPLE’S KINDNESS, we don’t write to anyone on Instagram, we don’t contact anyone. Our job is something else, we just have to sing.
VERONICA= He told you that you were going to one of their concerts, and where?
AMALIA= Yes, of course, everywhere he went.
Where you went (she turns to Piero), I went with you.
PIERO= But madam, I have the other two (Gianluca and Ignazio) that I have to take with me, there’s no room on the plane (laughter).
But where are you from, madam, let me understand.
AMALIA= Palermo.
PIERO= Ah, she’s Sicilian like me.
AMALIA= Yes, yes.
PIERO= Now we know each other.
AMALIA= Indeed!
VERONICA= Piero, don’t give her any hope because I’ll come and get you!! (laughter)
PIERO= Let’s look on the bright side, Mrs. Amalia, we understood that it’s a scam, I hope you didn’t spend a lot of money, but I’ll take advantage of this to officially invite you and your family to one of our concerts.
VERONICA= For real this time, eh!
AMALIA= Look how many of us there are (the video shows all the relatives who are there listening – laughter)

RELATIVES= Hello!
PIERO= I take back what I said! (laughter).
VERONICA= Amalia seems to have taken it very well, but when we hang up, she gets a little emotional.
Does it make you want to cry?
AMALIA= Yes!
VERONICA= My love. (they hug each other)
AMALIA= Of course, I feel bad, because I hoped it was really him, never mind!
VERONICA= What did you like about him?
AMALIA= Everything! He spoke to me tenderly, very sweetly.
VERONICA= It’s right to look for it and want love.
AMALIA= I found it with my husband!
VERONICA= Exactly.
Loving again, dear Amalia, is possible indeed, even at 78 years old.
So if it happens to you again, if ALBANO writes to you, I’ll name you at random, first go to your nieces and ask if it’s the real ALBANO or the fake ALBANO?
We need to be careful about this.
Are you calm now?
AMALIA= Yes, of course.
VERONICA= Didn’t I hurt you by telling you this?
AMALIA= No, no. In fact, you helped me feel better.
VERONICA= How sweet! Can we eat now or have you lost your hunger?
AMALIA= While I was with him, I wasn’t hungry.
VERONICA= Weren’t you hungry?
AMALIA= I was stuck.
VERONICA = It was love, of course!

Also ACTA,  Associazione Contro Truffe Affettive (Association Against Affective Fraud), and Lotta al Cybercrime, took an interest in the case, publishing the video from LE IENE, with this comment:
AMALIA at Le IENE: LOVE HAS NO AGE—> Amalia, a seventy-eight-year-old woman, has been believing for six months that she is the girlfriend of Il Volo singer Piero Barone.
Congratulations to Veronica Ruggeri who with empathy and simplicity makes Amalia understand that she has been yet another victim of an emotional scam by making her speak to the real Piero Barone. Veronica Ruggeri is an example to be imitated by those relatives of victims who act with arrogance, thus making the victim close up like a hedgehog. Amalia has been subjected to hypnotic manipulation and certainly does not need that arrogant and judgmental attitude that so many superficial people have.
This matter is really incredible, but unfortunately we know well that every day many people are enticed by these FAKE PROFILES who promise affection and kindness, to send MONEY.
Please be careful, none of Il Volo or their staff or their families need our MONEY, this is interesting for the FAKE PEOPLE who pass themselves off as them!!!!
Just before the Easter holidays, our editorial team received an email (another one unfortunately) from a kind fan who was scammed. We asked her if we could publish her email, here it is!!

April 13, 2025
TO:   Il Volo Staff
I experienced this fake profile of Piero and his so-called manager. Both were asking me for money.  One wanted iTunes cards. And the other one wanted $10,000 to meet with Piero, so he could stay with me for a month. Of course, in between his concerts.  There were so many red flags. The only problem is, I did send iTunes cards.
The only time he’d get upset was when I said, no, I’m not sending you anymore cards. Otherwise, he would over-do the “I love yous “.
He sent many, many photos of Piero and some of his family and ones of his many cars, etc., those kind of things you can get right from the Internet, which he probably didn’t realize I knew. I was a fool but I learned my lesson. This all started when I sent a message on Instagram to Piero, expressing how much I loved the Trio.  I was probably only on Instagram for a month.  I never really followed Il Volo before. Then I got caught up in a fake. This all started around March 30 through March 31 and I just ended it on April 13, 2025. I told him I want my money back and I’m going to report him.
Piero even sent a video (or who I thought was him at the time)  –  it had his exact face and voice saying he would never hurt me or do anything to me, I love you.  The face was Piero. But, It had to be AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Today, April 13, 2025, I received a voice message, and he said he loves me, and, I could immediately tell it definitely was not Piero. I could tell the difference. This man was trying  to act like Piero!
He said my VIP card was in the mail but it never arrived.
He also sent me gifts of: a framed photo of Piero & I, a t-shirt with a picture of Piero & I, and a stuffed pink teddy bear.  I received these items on the 12th of April. I did not go for that. I told him that the real Piero Barone would never have time for all this. Is there anything I can do to report this?  Federal Trade Commission??
These people owe me approximately $6000-$7000 in iTunes cards, which I know I won’t get back.
Thank you for your time. I know this not Il Volo’s fault. I just wanted people to be aware. I am a widow and he took advantage of me.
Sincerely: Deborah.

Dear Deborah, we are all on your side, we are very sorry for what happened to you, luckily you realized the deception!!!
Thank you for sending this testimony of yours and for allowing us to publish it, I hope it can help to pay more attention to the trust that is often stolen by these shady individuals.

Be smart, open your eyes.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca do not answer any fans and above all they do not ask for money!!

There are no words for these despicable actions, the internet can be dangerous, so only trust serious and well-known sites or pages.
BEWARE of those who offer you private contact.
Trust is very important and should only be given to serious people.
A hug to all of you!!
Daniela  🤗

 

Credit to owners of all photos and videos.

BEWARE OF THE MANY SCAMS by Daniela

Time passes quickly and there is very little left until the start of the U.S. tour. For this very reason I want to reiterate some important things.
Since there will be new fans approaching the concerts, and certainly these new fans, pleasantly surprised and full of admiration, will look for news of Il Volo on any platform, site, blog, fan pages.
For this reason, once again I want to warn everyone, new and old fans, so that they do not fall into the countless scams carried out behind Il Volo’s back and in particular to the detriment of Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio.
Scrolling on Google I found this article written a year ago immediately after the Sanremo 2024 performance. It is interesting and was published by ACTA.
ACTA: Action Against Affective Scams and Fight Cybercrime  

CLICK HERE to view the Facebook post

Il Volo, huge scam for fans: many risked losing everything.
— Requests for help from people scammed with this drama are also arriving at ACTA and fans of the band risk falling into the same sophisticated emotional scam.
They are also among the most loved artists of the recent Sanremo Festival. We are talking about Il Volo, the band that literally enchanted the audience at the Ariston theater with the song “Capolavoro”. In the singing competition, Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone earned a well-deserved eighth step on the podium. Much loved and in demand all over the world, the two tenors and the baritone have an agenda full of commitments and exciting singing appointments.
When you are at the peak of success, however, it is inevitable that mechanisms are unleashed that can have repercussions – and even seriously – on the fans of certain artists. This is exactly what happened for the band protagonist of the 74th Italian Song Festival. Ginoble, Boschetto and Barone, in this case, found themselves involved in a huge online scam.
Posing as the agent of the three Il Volo artists and convincing fans that a “simple” payment would be enough to meet their favorites. By means of bank transfer, obviously, or bitcoin. It might seem like a movie script, but instead this is what recently happened to supporters of the beloved band.
The investigation, carried out by a journalist from Novella 2000, allowed the fake profile of Michele Torpedine to be identified. The latter, posing as the agent of Il Volo, made users believe that, to have a moment face to face with the band, all they had to do was shell out money. We started from a minimum of 2 thousand euros, and then gradually increased the amount if requests from the public increased. And obviously, also based on the time that each admirer wanted to spend with Ginoble, Barone and Boschetto. A huge scam which, unfortunately, has deceived a significant number of people, enticed by the proposal of being able to spend time with the three singers.
Once the wrongdoings of the alleged Il Volo agent had been brought to light, the Novella 2000 staff proceeded to inform not only the investigators, but also the entourage of the band itself. A terrible deception, the one concocted against the admirers of the singers, which saw many people defrauded.
When you are at the height of success, on the other hand, the haters are as numerous as the fans. Unfortunately, predicting the onset of certain mechanisms is literally impossible. The investigation conducted by Novella 2000, at this juncture, proved to be nothing short of providential.
So, once again I want to warn everyone against these scammers who pass themselves off as Il Volo, Torpedine and above all Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble.
Remember that: Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca NEVER ASK ANYONE FOR MONEY
THEY NEVER CHAT WITH ANY FANS BY INVITING THEM ON OTHER SITES

BEWARE OF FAKE VIDEOS
spread with their images and voices, where they compliment you and ask you to follow them on private sites. Unfortunately, artificial intelligence allows them to make these fake videos that seem real, BUT THEY ARE NOT REALLY THEM.
Below is an example of a fake video.
Only join credible and series fan pages that do not pretend to be our guys.
Be wary of anyone who offers you (even with the faces of Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca) concert tickets or VIP badges, only go to the official channels, which will refer you to secure ticket resellers.
Don’t like photos that are published generically, only like them on serious fan pages, don’t waste likes on photos that attract you because they are beautiful, but for cheaters it’s a reason to hook you up.
This photo that I attach is false or otherwise falsified.
Don’t friend anyone Il Volo, Michele Torpedine, Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto or Gianluca Ginoble, they are all FAKE!!!
I myself receive friend requests every day from fake Piero, Ignazio or Gianluca, even from Torpedine and even from Ercole Ginoble!!!
Remember that Il Volo has only one official website, this one:
https://www.ilvolomusic.com/it
Il Volo has a single official Facebook page, this one:
https://www.facebook.com/ilvolomusic
The guys also have official Instagram accounts with the blue check mark, also known as the verified badge, which indicates that an account is authentic.
Soon Il Volo will be with you and therefore I ask you to spread the word as much as possible to alert old and new fans about this type of scam.
I also want to thank Cindi Dominguez for her efforts on this matter, your email reached me, and as you can see, I thought it best to write another post on this topic, thank you!!
And now I want to lighten the mood a little by publishing some videos of reactions to the performance of THE SOUND OF SILENCE by Clara and Il Volo in Sanremo.
I’ll start with the review by Giacomo Rossi, the good Vocal Coach who also publishes under the name Jack’s Reaction – Vocal Coach. His analyzes are always detailed and honest. In his personal ranking he places Clara and Il Volo in 5th place, but activate the subtitles to read his beautiful words about Il Volo, he talks about them at the beginning, immediately after the introduction of the video.
I wrote to Giacomo Rossi thanking him for the kind words on Il Volo and told him that I would publish the video on Flight Crew, so if you can comment under the YouTube video, he will be happy.

I also liked this video and it doesn’t need translation for you. He doesn’t know Il Volo but immediately admires it!

Two more nice reactions!

There are just a few days left until Il Volo arrives in the U.S. for the first concert of their tour!!
Are you ready!!!
Did you get the tickets?
Just a few more days and they will be with you, brightening your evenings with their splendid voices!!
Daniela 🤗

Credit to owners of all photos and videos.

BEWARE OF FAKES by Daniela

This is a topic that is very close to my heart, because unfortunately many fans are falling into the traps of these “false profiles”.
The people who hide behind these fake profiles are shamelessly sneaky, they trick you by often pressing the “friend button”, they make you believe that they have chosen you to have a deeper friendship, and then ask you for money!!
Although Pietro, Ignazio and Gianluca have always said that they never respond to fans and above all NEVER ASK FOR MONEY or to BUY CARDS, many people believe the fakes and even feel flattered by being chosen as friends.
Listen to what Ignazio says. And be wary even if you see a blue check, because there are profiles that have also copied the check.
Last year Il Volo’s official website published this:
Please DO NOT BELIEVE these false people or false sites or false Facebook pages, they will tell you that they are the real Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, BUT IT IS NOT SO.
I myself receive friend requests every day from countless Piero, Ignazio, Gianluca, all fake!!!
Last week, a fake mother named “Eleonora Barone” also asked me to be friends, incredible.
Now they have even made a fake page of IL VOLO and even of Michele Torpedine.
These two photos below were posted by the IL VOLO VIRTUAL TOUR BUS page, to warn that these pages ARE FAKE!!! 🤬🤬🤬
Also Judy, the administrator of this page, posted a long heartfelt comment to warn fans against these scammers.
But how to recognize fakes???
First of all, don’t friend anyone called Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto or Gianluca Ginoble, especially on Facebook, the guys themselves have always admitted that they don’t use Facebook profiles, so they are all FAKE!!
These “fake pages” are almost all created in Bangladesh and have the ultimate goal of making you send money.
Unfortunately I know of several fans who believed these pages and forwarded quite a bit of money, IT’S A SCAM, don’t be fooled, don’t believe what they tell you, unfriend them, don’t fall into their trap!!
The fanpage, IL VOLO SICILIA FANPAGE, from which we often draw for photos and videos, in this video has listed more than 200 fake profiles that it has blocked on its page.
Don’t put “like” (👍) to sites you don’t know because this way you make them acquire money, be careful, don’t be easy prey.
In particular, remember that our boys would NEVER ASK YOU FOR MONEY, even if they were to say they had lost their credit card or been robbed, do you really think that if it were true they would turn to their fans, they always have a staff at their disposal, shoulders for every need, so don’t believe requests for money!!
I also heard that some of these fakes have invented a hypothetical and false fan club card to renew, or they want to sell you concert tickets, so don’t believe anything that doesn’t come from the unique and official profile which is just this:
https://www.ilvolomusic.com/it/
Remember that this site is the only official one of Il Volo and the only official Facebook page is this:
https://www.facebook.com/ilvolomusic
All other pages or sites are made by fans, as is ours.
There are many serious fan pages, where you can calmly read the news of our boys, but be wary if someone comments on you with the name of Piero, Ignazio or Gianluca, perhaps thanking you for your love, because THEY ARE FAKE PEOPLE who are trying to hook you up and certainly, if you reply they will ask you to follow them on their private profile. DON’T DO IT!!!
Some of them will even look for you on your pages, in this case delete them immediately!!
So don’t follow all the pages of Il Volo that you happen to see, be careful and do some checks.
It’s not easy because I know several people who have always been fans of Il Volo and have been scammed, BE CAREFUL!!
This warning post was made by Gary Istok who runs the Facebook page IL VOLO/ MONTEPAGANO – ROSETO DEGLI ABRUZZI:
Gary here….
Facebook has become a “cesspool of scammers”, which with just the three IV guys number over 5000 now!!  Here is a post from a scammer who says “Today is my lovely sister’s birthday, no one has even blessed her.” This is so stupid! This is a 16-year-old Gianluca with his “then” girlfriend Jessica Brando!!  Gianluca has no sister! DON’T FEED THE SCAMMERS!!
Unfortunately, the arrival of Artificial Intelligence complicates things even more, look at these screen shots from a fake video on TikTok, created with AI, of a fake Gianluca with a fake recreated voice asking to receive messages on WhatsApp and Telegram and would like to send you his membership card!!!
HORRIBLE! This is a real scam and if Artificial Intelligence is to be used in this way I would say it is a Scam Intelligence!!! I am speechless!!
Please be wary of fakes, be careful, never send money, don’t let yourself be flattered by these false people who steal identities, passing themselves off as Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble!!!
If any of you have had experiences like this I would like you to talk about it here so as to further warn other fans not to fall into the traps.
I recommend it to you!!
Daniela 🤗

Credit to owners of all photos.