Tuesday 17 January 2023: Sigrid sews and knits and you may have been following her blog for many years.

In 2022 Sigrid’s Instagram account was copied as a fake account by scammers. This has happened and keeps happening to many SewOver50 followers.

There was a spate of fake Instagram accounts that were created prior to the holiday season in 2022.

In today’s podcast Sigrid talks through what happened to her on Instagram and how the SewOver50 community helped her reach out to Instagram to have the fake account removed.

Be aware that fake accounts are created and the criminals behind these accounts prey on the followers of these accounts. If you are approached by what seems to be a fake account, let the actual person know and then report the fake account to Instagram and then block it, for your safety and for the safety of your sewing friends.

When reporting fake accounts on Instagram, if the fake account uses your name/handle/photos, this is a copyright infringement. Report the fake account for copyright infringement to Instagram as well as the fake account as a scam.

What you may find that the fake account will change the photos and the avatar used as Instagram is working on investigating the reported account. Keep reporting any fake accounts to Instagram if the account continues to exists for over a week and take screen shots of the changed made to the fake account so you can let your followers know about the fake account.

An action to always take is to let your followers know there is a fake account and to also change your password.

You can follow Sigrid on her Blog on Pinterest on Etsy and on Instagram.