According to a report on Facebook by police in Ellendsburg, WA, two people were recently detained after unlawfully entering a home, which they believed was owned by country star Cole Swindell.
The police department began its statement by saying, “Last night, Ellensburg Police Officers responded to Pfenning Road for a reported burglary in progress. After the homeowner called from out of town to report seeing subjects walking into his home on a camera, a nearby neighbor confirmed two unknown individuals were inside the residence.”
Once arriving on the scene, the two people involved informed the officers that while communicating with someone online who claimed to be Swindell, they had been told they could enter the house. It was then confirmed that the “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” singer actually had nothing to do with the events that took place, leading officers to believe the people had fallen victim to a scam.
“The unknown man, who is definitely NOT a celebrity, told one of the individuals that they could go to the house and if anything was inside, it was probably his cousin’s belongings.”
Luckily, no harm was done, and nothing was taken from the house since the people truly believed they were allowed to be on the property. In conclusion, the whole situation was the result of an unfortunate miscommunication and a common scam.
“While this odd incident may seem slightly amusing and hard to believe, it highlights yet another SCAM designed only to take your money,” the report continued. “These scams involve someone claiming to be a celebrity who is in need of money or someone who requests money as a payment for a rental or purchase property.”
The police department then stressed the dangers of sending money to someone you have never met before, especially “for a property purchase or rental sight unseen.” They explained that this situation would most likely always be considered a scam.
“Many times, the victim pays the fee, never having personally seen the property. Most often, this results in the victim being out money and being embarrassed to find someone already living in the home. But in this case, the victim of the scam was mistaken for a burglar with criminal intent and treated as such until the investigation revealed a much stranger, but no less frustrating reality. Luckily, the homeowner was happy to have Officers simply lock all the doors and send the ‘burglars’ away with a funny story to tell at their Thanksgiving table.”
According to iFiberone, police say the scammer was posing under the alias of Cole Swindell.
Swindell is enjoying the success of his current single, “She Had Me At Heads Carolina,” which officially reached the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart in September.
Swindell now holds 12 career No. 1’s as an artist, 13 No. 1’s as a songwriter, nine certified Platinum singles, a Platinum-certified debut album and a Gold-certified sophomore album.
The Georgia native also recently released a remix of the song, which features Jo Dee Messina, whose 1996 track, “Heads Carolina, Tails California” inspired Swindell to record his own version.
Cole Swindell’s last concert of the year will take place Thursday, December 8 in Duluth, GA.
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