Fake Air Ambulance charity warning

THE Wales Air Ambulance has warned people on social media to be vigilant after a fake account was set up pretending to be the life-saving charity.

The accounts have been set up on Facebook and Instagram. A post states: “Congratulations, you are a happy person who got a gift from us! Follow the last step by clicking on the registration button below! REMEMBER, when you need to enter a credit card number, select the TRIAL option for free options, credit cards are just one of the requirements for verifying your data! This event is 100% FREE!!”

The charity says people should ignore any request to enter personal details, saying: “We will never ask for any payment details or personal data over these platforms. If you come across this account (the fake one) please report it.”

Whoever was behind the scam was taking advantage of a competition the Wales Air Ambulance launched last week.

Steven Stokes, director of strategic communications and engagement at the charity, said: “For clarification, our Facebook account is Wales Air Ambulance Charity NOT Wales Air’ Ambulance Charity. Our Instagram username is @ air_ambulance NOT @ wales_air_ambulance_ charity.

“As part of the charity’s new rebrand, which was announced on Friday (20 May), we offered our supporters a chance to enter a competition to win an airbase visit. Entries were via our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

“The scammers have since set up fake Wales Air Ambulance Facebook and Instagram accounts and are using the competition to encourage people to click a link and ‘register’, where they then gain personal/financial details. We are working tirelessly to protect our supporters and our charity from these fraudsters. We identified the issue early on and acted immediately by informing our followers and reporting the fake accounts to the social media companies.

“The reporting process to date has been frustrating, for both us and our supporters, with a lack of acknowledgement and action from the companies involved. However, we continue to do everything we can to have these fake accounts removed.

“In addition, we have cancelled the competition in a bid to stop this scam from escalating.”