Morrissey has revealed details of a sweeping identity fraud case targeting him, in a statement published on Morrissey Central.
The announcement outlined how nine individuals were found to have been impersonating the musician online, promoting various political agendas under his name. The statement provided a detailed account of the scale and nature of the fraud.
“Eighteen months ago The Web Sheriff contacted Morrissey’s ex-manager, Merck Mercuriadis,” the statement read. “The Sheriff advised Merck that they had discovered ‘the very worst case of online identity fraud’ — namely, nine individuals masquerading as Morrissey operating on behalf of various political groups.”
The statement went on to describe the scope of the impersonations and their impact on Morrissey’s reputation.
“Statements urged Morrissey’s ‘fans’ to actively join factions and movements advocating various political ideas,” it continued. “The Web Sheriff pointed out that although this was not unusual, and had befallen many musicians in the public eye, the concentration of Morrissey impersonators was very high. Two of the nine individuals operated from Scotland, one of which had been familiar to Morrissey (in name only) due to their connection with a generally unsupportive ‘Morrissey’ website operating in the USA.”
Further details revealed the extent of the activity carried out by the impersonators, including ties to a former member of The Smiths.
“The individual was found to have posted 1,800 online messages,” the statement noted. “Another name had connections to an ex-member of The Smiths. Their posted commentaries severely harmed Morrissey’s status and character. Morrissey has not ever been active on open forums, and has not ever owned a smart-phone, or contributed to Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, or joined a political party. His reach is restricted to the M-central site, which has always been based in England.”
The statement also addressed the financial barriers standing in the way of legal action.
“The planned operation to take police action against the nine individuals requires appointment of two legal firms,” it read. “The financial commitment of extensive and unremitting expenditure is outside of Morrissey’s personal capacity to shoulder. The next move is under consideration. Morrissey is grateful to Merck Mercuriadis for his insight.”
No further timeline for legal proceedings has been announced at this stage.
The latest update sheds further light on a case that has been building for some time. Additional reporting has since provided broader context around the nature of the fraud, the political motivations behind it, and the wider landscape of online impersonation targeting public figures in the music industry.
Stereogum reported that some of the fake posts attributed to Morrissey allegedly pushed fans toward far-right political ideas — positions Morrissey says he has never endorsed. The campaign reportedly spanned years rather than isolated incidents, pointing to a coordinated effort to manipulate public perception of the musician’s political views.
Architeg Prints noted that Web Sheriff — the online protection firm that uncovered the fraud — has previously handled comparable impersonation cases for major artists including Beyoncé, Prince, Bob Dylan, Adele, and Radiohead. The firm’s involvement underscores the growing prevalence of identity fraud targeting high-profile musicians. Investigators noted, however, that the sheer concentration of impersonators in Morrissey’s case was unusually high even by industry standards.
Far Out Magazine described the campaign against Morrissey as characterized by fake websites, impersonation across multiple social media platforms, and sustained harassment on Facebook and X. This painted a picture of a broad and methodical operation rather than the work of a single bad actor. Morrissey has reportedly already launched legal action against at least one unnamed “person of interest,” with two law firms now engaged in the broader response.
The financial dimension of the case remains a significant obstacle. Pursuing police action against all nine individuals simultaneously demands resources that Morrissey has acknowledged are beyond his personal means, leaving the full scope of legal proceedings uncertain for now. Whether additional funding or institutional support will be sought to advance the case has not yet been disclosed.
