January 24, 2026 article from De Limburger. by Tim Geurts and Jack Martens Translation by Diana/Ineke. Be aware of fake André Rieu and Pierre Rieu Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages that disseminate A.I. photos and false information to uninformed fans. If you are accidentally a member of such group, please unfollow the group and report the page. Continuing to visit the fake pages will only increase their viewership and further spreading the fake information and scams. André Rieu wants to tackle fake news. Together with other artists, and it's essential that Meta cooperates. Limburg celebrities such as André Rieu and Max Verstappen suffer a lot from the fact that their name and face are used for scams. Violinist André Rieu wants to put a stop to the fake online messages that are scamming his fans. His son, Pierre Rieu, says that his father's company is trying to contact national and international artists. "We're not the only ones affected by this. This also applies to the Verstappens and Andrea Bocellis of this world. And countless others," says Pierre Rieu, giving an example. "Recently, a woman from Portugal transferred 22,000 euros. She thought it was my father. She supposedly used it to buy a piece of his castle. She had a signed letter with it. It even included the signature (forged, of course) of a lawyer we've worked with before. It is heartbreaking” André Rieu lying on a hospital bed in an oxygen mask, a few days before he takes his last breath. And his wife Marjorie fighting for her life after a serious car accident. The Rieu family has had a hard time in recent months. Especially since all this is happening right after the waitress at restaurant De Gulde Draak broke Rieu's precious Stradivarius. And then, to top it off, there is the sad death of Pierre Rieu's dog. Anyone who sees it in a row – and this is only a very small selection – would almost think that the Rieu family has started a real soap opera series. That's not the case. Just like everything above is utter nonsense. Messages of Support Yet, social media is full of stories of misfortune befalling Rieu and his family, including poorly executed AI- generated images. It's laughable, although that's certainly not the effect it has on Pierre Rieu. He regularly sees the consequences of these social media posts. And anyone who clicks on the comments under such articles on Facebook will indeed see a surprising number of messages of support. Apparently, many people believe these stories. "I receive messages daily. Often from the children of women who think they are in a relationship with my father. Mothers who have usually already transferred a lot of money to my father. Or at least, that's what they think. These children are practically begging us to please tell their mothers that it's all not real," Rieu says. Because the messages on Facebook are just the beginning, Rieu knows. And the fact that the photos look so fake is entirely intentional, he explains. "The people who react to those posts are the people who are susceptible to scams. Those social media messages are purely intended to pick out the right – vulnerable – people." That's when the real scam begins. After someone has expressed their sympathy, they are supposedly contacted by people posing as Rieu's management, or even as the violinist himself. "To thank them and start a conversation. Or to ask if they would like to send a bouquet of flowers, for example? And so it continues." Pierre Rieu has experienced firsthand just how far these scams go. "Recently, a woman from Portugal transferred 22,000 euros. She thought she was sending it to my father. She believed she had bought a piece of his castle with that money. She even had a signed letter, complete with the (forged, of course) signature of a lawyer we've worked with before." Once initial contact is made, it becomes much more difficult to expose the scammers. "Anyone who searches online can easily find out who we work with. So, if you then do a Google search, it all seems quite legitimate. You'll indeed find a lawyer we work with. Or you might believe that the fake email from Roger van Elssen is real, because you can find online that he is a director at our company." Discouraged Rieu sometimes gets discouraged by it. "It doesn't only happen with my father. My mother has already 'died' several times. I've regularly seen myself lying in a bed with an oxygen mask on. My twins now have a new mother, and I can't even count the multi-million dollar deals with Netflix anymore. Just type my name into Facebook. I think there are about fifty people who pretend to be Pierre Rieu, sometimes with thousands of followers." Pierre Rieu tries to deal with the subject with some humor on his Instagram account. When another photo of his father in a hospital bed surfaced, he reacted with: "Too much vibrato can apparently be dangerous." And when his dog was recently declared dead, Rieu posted: "Fake news about the death of me or my father? Apparently, that's a hobby these days. But my dog? No, that's where I draw the line." Little of that humor remains when he hears the story of someone who has fallen victim to a scam. "Last year, on the day we were supposed to fly to Birmingham, two women suddenly showed up at the gate. They rang the doorbell and then told the security guard: 'We're here.' The security guard, of course, didn't understand what they were talking about, but one of the women was convinced that she was in a relationship with my father. They had had so much contact online, she had already transferred money several times, and she had been promised that she would fly to Birmingham with my father that day. That woman's world truly collapsed when it became clear to her that it was all fake. It's heartbreaking." This exploitation of vulnerable, often lonely people is deeply upsetting. "We always advise people to file a police report, but you also know that the scammers are probably sitting behind a computer somewhere far away in Nigeria or something." Fraud Help Desk The Fraud Help Desk recognizes the misuse of well-known names, although they cannot specify this for individuals like André Rieu and Max Verstappen. They don't primarily focus on the fake messages that appear online, but rather on the number of fake advertisements that misuse the name or face of famous Dutch people. "In 2024, we recorded over 140 reports involving advertisements featuring a famous Dutch person, and in 2025 this number rose to over 270. It is therefore clear that this method is frequently used by scammers," the help desk stated in a written response. Media lawyer Matthijs Kaaks also knows that this is happening extensively. He was the one who, together with Jort Kelder, took action against Google and Twitter, tech giants whose platforms were rife with fake advertisements featuring famous Dutch people at the time. The fight was successful. In the appeal, the verdict was that Google was liable for these fake advertisements. However, Kaaks also sees that this has not solved the problem. "In 2019, when this fight began, it was mainly about the use of photos of famous people, especially as clickbait. Now, you see it happening more and more with deepfake videos. Fake videos in which the expertise or credibility of Dutch celebrities is misused to spread disinformation. For example, fake videos of medical professionals such as Marion Koopmans, Ted van Essen, or Diederik Gommers are regularly circulated to promote dubious remedies for diabetes." Fake Videos The same thing happens, for example, with fake videos that promote fraudulent investment products. "Often, the victims are lured into a fake WhatsApp group, supposedly run by the investment advisor who gives tips and advises on which stocks to buy, often small, unknown funds. This causes the price to rise significantly, and that's when the scammers, who already own a considerable number of shares themselves, cash out. In this way, they secure their profits through 'pump and dump' schemes, leaving the victims with shares that are suddenly worth little to nothing." The problem is that, due to ever-improving AI techniques, this form of fraud is becoming increasingly easy. Manipulating videos to make them somewhat believable is child's play these days. "Moreover, malicious advertisers can reach the right target group very quickly via Facebook. Age, interests, a specific region – you can reach people very effectively and quickly. And don't be mistaken. We don't even know how many people are being scammed. Not everyone reports it. People are ashamed that they fell for it." According to Kaaks, the big problem is that Facebook hardly monitors anything. "Based on European legislation, the Digital Services Act, parent company Meta (the company behind Facebook and Instagram, among others) has the obligation to take structural action against deepfakes and scams. Furthermore, Meta must immediately remove a false message or deepfake after it is reported." Perpetrators difficult to catch Facebook rarely removes content itself, so reporting is essential, according to Kaaks. “When André Rieu reported the fake messages and requested their removal from Meta, but similar messages reappear a week later, then Meta is negligent and liable for damages. And whether it's an advertisement or a random message from a third party, the principle remains that after being notified, Facebook must remove the content if it is unlawful. So if those messages reappear online, André Rieu or Max Verstappen will have to go to court. But in practice, that happens very rarely.” In addition, finding the perpetrators is almost impossible. The distributors of the messages are rarely traced and prosecuted. “Because identity verification is inadequate. In the Google case, we demanded the personal data of the advertisers who had placed the fake messages with Jort Kelder's portrait. When we finally obtained the data of the scammers after the intervention of the court, it turned out to be IP addresses with addresses in countries such as Vietnam, Peru, and Russia. You can't do much with that, and it also shows that the control by the large platforms at the gate is a sham. So getting to the real perpetrators is very difficult.” This also makes it extra complicated for people who actually transfer money to these scammers. “They almost always end up empty-handed. The authorities do not track down the perpetrators, due to a lack of capacity and because other cases take precedence, and due to the use of constructions with accounts in distant countries, it is also a hopeless task. To be honest, I don't know of any examples of scammers who have been convicted for these types of advertisements. Ultimately, the solution will have to be found in a stricter and more rigorous approach by Meta and the other big tech platforms that allow themselves to be used for this purpose, and often profit from it.” The floodgates are open Pierre Rieu can't wait for things to change. Because to date, reporting these incidents hasn't made any difference. “It’s like trying to mop up a flood with the tap still running, and it has hardly any effect. It often takes a very long time before a post is removed, if it happens at all.” Addressing this type of scam is also only marginally successful on other platforms. “We also regularly report fake videos on YouTube to Google. But sometimes the infringement is even disputed there, for example, because no music is used.” Nevertheless, he also sees positive developments. He calls it “good news” that X’s AI chatbot (Grok) is under fire for “undressing people” and has to make adjustments. Taking Meta to court is not yet on the table. “We want to try other methods first.” André Rieu wants to tackle fake news on social media together with other artists. Violinist André Rieu wants to put a stop to the fake online messages that are being used to scam his fans. His son Pierre Rieu says that his father's company is trying to contact national and international artists to come up with a solution. "We are not the only ones suffering from this. The same applies to the Max Verstappens (Dutch F1 racing driver) and Andrea Bocellis of this world. And countless others." In an ideal world, Rieu would like to be able to remove messages from Facebook himself. "We feel a great responsibility to do something about this, and I am immediately willing to hire someone full-time for this." However, it is necessary that Meta – the company behind Facebook, among others – cooperates. "Currently, we can only report things, but that all takes a very long time and is sometimes ineffective." Being able to remove fake messages themselves would work much better. "For example, that accounts with more than a million followers get that possibility. With the limitation that if you make a mistake even once or misuse the system, you immediately lose those rights." By working together, Rieu hopes to achieve more. Although the plan to tackle the fake messages is still in its initial stages, Pierre Rieu says. "I don't have Mark Zuckerberg's phone number, but if we, together with all those artists, contact him or post something simultaneously to make a statement, then we have a better chance of achieving something." Velvet Star Sounds and Romantic Crescendo are among many fake accounts that need to be reported by André Rieu fans. Facebook will get a resounding message when they received numerous simultaneous reporting on the same scammer, to take immediate action for removal. RESPOND? tim.geurts@delimburger.nl jack.martens@delimburger Note: These journalists offer the opportunity to respond. It would be great if they received messages from André fans around the world (please mention from which country you are). I know that our administrator for the Harmony Parlor fan group (23.000 members!) on Facebook (Chris Fowler) has to delete several member requests a day from Pierre, Marc and/or André to join the fan group! Thanks to his strict monitoring, we've managed to keep the fakes out, so far. Well done, Chris, thanks a lot!!