TVNZ Breakfast host Jenny-May Clarkson targeted by fraudsters

This article was one of Herald Entertainment’s best-read stories of 2023

Breakfast host Jenny-May Clarkson has warned against online scams after being targeted in several “disturbing” posts.

The TVNZ presenter shared screengrabs of some of the posts on her Instagram page, which include fake headlines like “TV host’s career in jeopardy: scandalous past finally exposed” alongside photoshopped images of her being arrested.

“Kia ora tātou, so this is relentless, disturbing, and sad,” she wrote in the caption.

“The narrative that accompanies these posts is also vile and unsettling. Please REPORT when you see these (or others like it), and DO NOT SEND MONEY OR GIVE OUT ACCOUNT DETAILS,” she warned.

“Sending aroha to the people who have created these as they clearly need some,” Clarkson continued, adding a heart emoji.

She shared another screenshot to her Instagram story of a fake news story headlined: “Bank of New Zealand sues Jenny-May Clarkson for what she said on live TV”.

“And here’s another one,” she wrote.

Clarkson isn’t the first public figure to be targeted in such a scam.

In February this year, Spy reported that Breakfast’s Matty McLean is “constantly” reporting fake social media accounts using his name and photos.

He told the outlet that it’s hard to stay on top of it as new fake accounts are quick to appear, claiming to be running competitions and asking fans to enter.

“Please be vigilant online,” he warns.

“These profiles are being created with relentless vigour. Every time a new one pops up, I immediately report it to Meta, and it’s taken down.”

Earlier this month, NZME’s Hokonui Breakfast radio host Luke Bowden was targeted by scammers who used photos of his newborn baby to attempt to con listeners.

Scammers used a fake Facebook page copying his posts and photos to look like the real thing, later messaging his listeners to tell them they had won a weekly prize featured on his show each Friday.

Howden told the Herald it was “scary” to see his personal family photos used to try to scam people.

“To take that and twist it to manipulate people feels violating. A lot of listeners said that was the one thing [the baby photos] that convinced them the scam must have been real.

“That’s the scary part of it all, that people who you build trust with might fall victim to it all and it has your identity over it, it’s none of your own doing.”

This article was originally published on May 5, 2023