We want to remind our customers and followers to always beware and ask questions when interacting online. Whether it is a website or social media account, always investigate who you are actually talking to. Unfortunately, scammers sometimes target unsuspecting users by creating false or imposter profiles to collect information or funds online.
What you can do to keep your information safe online:
- If you are contacted by a brand, check to ensure if the account is legitimate before interacting with them. Some signs that an account is “fake” is if it is a new account, has few followers, is following more people than they have followers and few posts.
- Call or email the brand/company directly if something does not seem right.
- If the brand is asking you for personal information such as credit card info to collect a prize, do not provide this information.
Example:
It has come to our attention that an imposter Instagram account has copied our branding and reached out to some of our followers through direct messaging. The account has our name, with the addition of an underscore at the end of the handle @thecamerastore_
You will notice that this is a private account with only a few hundred followers (437), is following almost two thousand people (1,724) and 1 post. Our account is @thecamerastore has over 25,000 followers and 699 posts.
If you encounter this imposter account on Instagram, you can help get it shut down by reporting & blocking it. If you have any questions, please contact us at contact@thecamerastore.com or 403-234-9935
