Anyone who’s received an email inquiry from promoter and music manager Barrie Marshall might need to double-check that it was really him.

Representatives from Marshall Arts sent out a rare press release on Friday (Oct. 31) warning that someone is impersonating the AEG-aligned promoter, who works with stars like Paul McCartney and P!nk.

“Marshall Arts has been made aware of a scam targeting our promoters,” the statement reads. “Fraudulent emails are being circulated detailing fictitious booking offers for artists we represent.”

Fraud is a major problem in live entertainment, an industry in which agents, promoters and managers lean on their long-standing relationships to broker deals worth tens of millions — and sometimes hundreds of millions — of dollars. This atmosphere is easily exploited by bad actors looking to trick talent executives and entertainment buyers into wiring over large deposits for artists they think they’re booking, only to later learn they’ve been tricked.

It’s unclear what happened with Marshall, but according to the company, the fraudulent “messages appear to originate from an individual falsely claiming to be Barrie Marshall, using a deceptive email address that resembles our own. The recipients are then encouraged to engage in discussion around these false live performances, before being sent misleading requests for deposit payments.”

One thing to check for is that any emails originating from Marshall should include a marshall-arts.com email address. (A common means for detecting online fraud is to carefully check all email addresses, click-throughs and links for correct spelling.)

The statement ends, “We’re aware of other recent instances of agents being impersonated, and we’re actively taking steps to prevent the further circulation of these fraudulent emails. In the meantime, if you receive any unsolicited booking offers or payment requests from members of our team, please do not respond. Instead, contact our office directly.”

Inquiries should be sent to erin.kelly@dawbell.com.