Web fraudsters pose as track star Eilish in new Instagram scam
She warns 143,000 followers: Ignore messages
SCOTTISH Commonwealth champion Eilish McColgan has warned fans of fraudsters who have attempted to impersonate her on social media.
The gold medal winner, who was celebrated worldwide last week after winning the 10,000m, has hit out at scammers on Instagram.
The athlete highlighted a fake account on her social media, urging followers to ‘ignore or report’ the fraudster’s page, which was set up in the wake of her success.
A private Instagram account, under the name eilish_mccolgan_private, has tried to scam followers by attempting to steal their personal details.
The account first messages followers about a clothing range that is being launched, with the fraudster then going on to ask for personal information.
Miss McColgan warned the 143,000 followers of her account and told them that all her social media pages are verified with a blue tick.
The runner’s Instagram warning, which included a screenshot of the scam account, read: ‘This is a fake page trying to scam my followers. Please ignore or report. I only have one Instagram account and all my social media is verified with a blue tick.’
The message sent to followers from the fake account reads: ‘Do you mind I add you to my new Instagram clothing platform, I will be launching my own products of clothes in September.’
The account then contacts users, telling them they will send a ‘redirection link’ to take them to the so-called clothing platform.
The fraudster then asks the follower to add their phone number to their Instagram profile page.
Speaking of the scam account, Miss McColgan said: ‘It happens all the time so it’s nothing too unusual. Fake profiles are always created of athletes.
‘Someone did the exact same thing last week of Katie Snowden – GB 1500m runner. They just create a fake profile then DM [direct message] individuals saying they are starting their own clothing range or they’ve won a giveaway.’
She added: ‘The annoying thing is that we all report it and Instagram says they aren’t breaking any community guidelines.
‘So clearly that’s an oversight and error on their part that needs to be fixed.’
The Dundee athlete broke the Commonwealth Games record for the 10,000m, emulating her mother Liz McColgan, when she claimed gold in Birmingham at the start of the month.
The runner clung on in the closing stages of the longdistance event, only to blow away her Kenyan rival Irine Cheptai in the home straight.
Miss McColgan then went on to make the headlines again when she won silver in the 5,000m.
She also carried the country’s flag at the closing ceremony at the Alexander Stadium on Monday.
‘Please ignore or report’