So I get this email this morning, which, I believe is a fraud situation and I did NOT click on any of the links. It said:
There is a website called Kongregate where a young child has been using the screen name "Abby_Welker"
and 'Anoks", using your pictures and going as you. This child has been going into chat rooms spewing profanity which I feel if people were to look up her 'names', would bring up your site AND wrongfully judge you. Normally I dont care too much if people do this, but I see you as a responsible mother to 4 children, and I figure its your choice on what to do.
I have included screen shots of the accounts, and the urls to reach them.
Sincerely
Ashley H.
Sure enough--she gave me 2 screen shots with MY picture and MY name--but it's not my account. And---creepy---she knew that I have 4 children. (if 'she' is a 'she'. 'She' is probably a creepy, pervert, dirty old man) I know it's not a secret that I have kids, but it's still creepy.
So rather than click on the links, I type it up myself: and I find this profile - using my NAME and MY PICTURE. ???!!! (at least they think I can pass off as a 19-year-old!)
I go to send them a personal message, a scathing "get my #$%@ face and #%@% name off your %#%^@ account!!!" kind of a message, but, of course, I have to SIGN UP with them. Scam.
I'm being scammed on two sides and if I knew who to report this to, I would. Don't worry--I'm definitely looking it up today and going to somehow get it taken care of. To say that I'm upset would be an understatement. If any of you know how to report/fix/correct this problem, I'd appreciate any info.
In the meantime....I'm probably going to remove every photo of mine from my sites. This is just over-the-top dishonest and creepy.
13 comments:
unfortunately this is one of the sad things about making ourselves public, we open ourselves to all sorts of unwanted attention and exposure. good luck with sorting it.
Sadly, the internet/FB/Twitter & blogging in general have made our world a very, very small ... and yes, CREEPY place. I pray you are able to report this & have it all taken care of ... it is a scary situation indeed.
I don't know a whole lot about this, but can you use the contact us link at the bottom of the website. Try use https/ instead of http, it is more secure.
That is scary! I wish I knew an answer. I have appreciated reading your blog and hope you find a solution soon. Especially when it comes to protecting your family.
Yuck, yuck, and yuck! Very scary. You can send the site a complaint by clicking the contact us button at the bottom of the page. Please keep us updated on the results.
Oh my goodness, I am SO sorry! How awful. Hope it gets resolved.
That is creepy; there is nothing worse that someone scamming your identity. I fee for you. I had someone hack my email and send out ads for Viagra to everyone on my email list including friends, family and people I worked with.
I clicked on that Kongregate site and they have a "Contact Us" section at the bottom - instead of signing up I would think you could report the fraud under the user name and that they should close down the account. Good luck:)
I would be very sad if you took your blog down. I think you are so creative and I love to read the things you are doing, but I also understand the need to protect your family. Hugs!
This is so annoying. Something similar happened to a blog I used to read - someone passed all her photographs off as their own. Hopefully you have it sorted I clicked on the link and it says the user has been permanently banned). It's a shame when someone's stupidity impinges on other people's lives. Glad you found out about it.
Thanks, all! This was very, very frustrating. Part of me thinks the whole thing is/was a scam. Everything about it was strange. The "support help" let me know that the user was permanently banned, whatever that means. That same user, who can create fake identities, who will be right back on creating more fake identities with other email addresses & other people's information, has, indeed, NOT been permanently banned. I am sure of this.
This is the world we now live in. If you put something on the internet, anyone can use it however they want. So very sad.
how sad that people are mean and ruin all the fun for the rest of us! i would hate to see you remove your blog. i just LOVE it! you have such great ideas. but i would definitely understand. family comes first for sure. good luck!
This sort of thing makes me crazy too, I am caught between needing my blog for my designs and to let people know what is coming up, and wanting to hide in a hole to protect myself.. In the end I choose to go boldly forth... anyone who wants to steal my life is just jealous cos I'm so awesome LOL !
I've never commented before, but have LOVED your blog and have not only learned some new skills, like needlework and crochet, but have actually been inspired to make and COMPLETE projects! If you are serious about deleting your blog, please let me know so i can copy all my fvorite tutorials and recipes.
Thanks for being so amazing and sharing with all of us... but by all means, protect yourself first. :)
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