TVNZ Breakfast presenter Matty McLean. Photo / Michael Craig
Breakfast host Matty McLean is constantly reporting fake social media accounts using his name and image.
But it doesn’t take long for a new one to sprout up in its place, so it’s hard for him to keep on top of it, he tells Spy.
The pages run fake competitions, 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.”
He joins a growing number of fake celebrity accounts swamping Instagram and Facebook. Scammers use the star’s images and target followers, asking them to invest.
In the case of Nick Mowbray, billionaire owner of Zuru Toys and Zuru Edge, messages were sent to followers under a fake account asking them how their trading was going, before asking them to click on a link.
And acting superstar Sam Neill was targeted in a fake romance scam with fake accounts using his name and image attempting to extract cryptocurrency or cash from his fans in exchange for roles in Jurassic Park, romance or diamond rings.
Neill’s assistant pointed out Neill would never contact people from an unverified account or ask to continue the conversation on another platform.
Others targeted include Newstalk ZB broadcaster Kate Hawkesby and sporting greats Richie McCaw and Sonny Bill Williams.
And last week, it was revealed former socialite Aja Rock had been targeted in a deepfake scam on Instagram. Doctored video of her promoting a bitcoin investment scheme was posted online.
McLean - also starring on Treasure Island: Fans v Faves - says it is incredibly concerning to see Kiwis are being targeted.
“All I would say to people is please be vigilant online. Unfortunately, we’re living in a world where you have to be constantly questioning whether the things you’re seeing online are true, and that goes for scams like these. I would never give away prizes or cash on my public profile,” he says.
He said a good way to confirm if the page was really his, was to check for the blue verification badge.
“So just take a second before you click on links - to think about whether you’re about to be lured into a scam.”
CERT NZ’s manager of incident response, Jordan Heersping, says social media sites are crammed with fake profiles proclaiming to be either the celebrity themselves or part of their “social media team”.
“The scammers are often groups of people scrapping images off legitimate profiles and setting up fake ones. They can use bots and search algorithms to figure out which celebrity to target based on current events and potentially even use those bots to generate fake posts.”
He says the imposter accounts can be created so quickly that it can end up being a game of whack-a-mole.
“By the time one is removed, another three or four are already created.
“Be wary of any celebrity that is suddenly trying to sell cryptocurrency or sending private messages offering investment tips or even romantic messages. It’s flattering, but not real.”
A spokesperson for Meta said they were pleased their enforcement was working and McLean’s fake account was taken down. They say in recent years, Meta have invested significantly in artificial intelligence to detect harmful content and accounts, before a user needs to see it.
Meta said they actioned 1.5 billion fake accounts, 99.6 per cent of which they detected via artificial intelligence before a user reported it to them.
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