Timaru business owner's warning following online scam

Monday, 15 May 2023

The social media message received by Timaru woman Tania Clark that started a scam where she was locked out of all her social media accounts.

The message looked innocent enough.

A simple ‘Hey mate, what’s up. I need you do me favor [sic]’, a message from Tania Clark’s friend in Australia read.

It was the same tone and expression her friend would normally use, so Clark, of Timaru, not suspecting anything suspicious, responded.

However, the response to that message, sent by someone posing as her friend, led to Clark being locked out of all of her personal and business social media accounts.

The response to Clark asking her to send her a link.

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Now her friends are getting the same messages she received, from her accounts.

Clark is warning others, especially those whose businesses rely on social media, to be vigilant, so the same thing does not happen to them.

“I have lost everything,’’ Clark said.

“Five-and-a-half thousand followers [on her business Pampered to Perfection’s page]. It took 12 years to build it up, so it’s pretty gutting.’’

A message from the scammer to one of Clark’s friends.

The page contained hundreds of photos of work she had done on clients’ nails, as well as renovation work done when she took over the salon’s Hassall St building.

The trouble began just over a week ago when, while waiting for her children at the end of the school day, Clark used the time to scroll through her messages and do some business administration.

Clark also had social media accounts linked to her Facebook account – one for her Scentsy business, and chat groups for her family and a netball team she coaches.

“I have lost everything,’’ Clark said.

After replying with ‘go on’ she received a message from the person impersonating her friend: ‘I’m trying to sign up my Facebook on my new phone and Fb won’t allow me login, they suggested to me 2 friends I can contact to help me receive an sms. Pls if you get the link send it to me, so I can login okay’’.

Clark received a text, copied the link and sent it to her friend.

Two minutes later she went back on Facebook to answer more work messages and could not get into her accounts.

“My mind clicked, I was just hoping it wasn’t true.

“I was a stunned mullet. I was gutted.’’

She is slowly rebuilding her new accounts, linking her pages to a dummy Facebook profile.

She urged others to do the same and to allow a two-factor authentication on all social media accounts for extra protection.

“It’s been a nightmare, a real hassle.

“I just don’t want it to happen to anyone else and want to make people aware.’’