‘Relentless scammers’ have duped thousands
Fake fairies offered by online shops
TENS of thousands of people around the world have fallen victim to scammers offering the Staffordshire Moorlandscreated famous wire fairy sculptures.
The sculptures, seen at Trentham Gardens, are being offered for sale via social media advers, and scammers have been creating fake online shops and running hundreds of ads on Facebook and Instagram, leading vulnerable fairy fans to them.
All of the ads are using Fantasywire images, infringing the copywright of Moorlands artist Robin Wight, and some are even claiming to be him and are closely replicating the authentic website’s design.
Each of the victims was out of pocket by around £28 ($40), and were left waiting for fake fairies that will never arrive.
Fantasywire creator Robin said: “Fairies create real magic, scams like this use the fascination people have with fairies, in a very dark and devious way.
“I’ve done everything possible to raise awareness via every means I know, but still the message isn’t getting through.
“The scammers are relentless, please beware.
“They are targeting fairy fans, who tend to be women aged between 35 and 60, which represents about eight per cent of the users of Facebook and Instagram which is around two hundred million users.
“The ads are all for fake, non-existent products around $40.
“If 0.5 per cent of their ads catch someone out, it’s a scam worth $40million.
“This is a big operation. They add new user profiles every day and are running hundreds of ads, all linking to a growing list of dozens of fake shops.
“I have sent emails to BBC Watchdog, You & Yours and Rip Of Britain. It seems ludicrous that a blatant crime worth millions can be carried out in full sight, and there is literally nowhere to report it, to stop it.”
Genuine Fantasywire fairies are only available by directly liaising with Robin Wight at www.fantasywire.co.uk and are not sold via any other online shops.
They also cost considerably more than these fake sites imply.
Fantasywire have reported countless copyright infringements to Facebook, but as quickly as the profiles are taken down, more appear.
The police, Action Fraud, The National Crime Agency, National Cyber Security Centre and Paypal have all been notified, as concerns rise, and the scams continue to gain considerable momentum.
Fairy fans are urged to take care online, and not fall victim to the scammers. Anyone concerned should be in touch with their bank, and Action Fraud. https://www.actionfraud.police.uk.