Scammers pose as small businesses on social media to trick customers

STANLY COUNTY, N.C. — Two small business owners say scammers targeted their boutiques and tricked their customers into sharing important personal information.

Mary Wysocki of Make It Personal in Albemarle, and Melissa Gibson of Nona Louise in Locust told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke that someone made fake Facebook and Instagram pages using the names of their shops.

“They had all of our photos, so that definitely gave me a sick feeling,” Wysocki said.

“It was our girls. It was our pictures. It was our Facebook cover. It was everything,” Gibson told Stoogenke.

They said the imposters used the copycat pages to friend customers and then obtain their credit card information. Wysocki says two of her customers fell for the scam. One of Gibson’s clients did, too.

The women say they depend on social media to promote their businesses. In fact, both women held social media contests around Valentine’s Day.

“Social media is one of our biggest marketing strategies as a small business,” Wysocki said.

According to Wysocki and Gibson, all but one of the fake pages disappeared, so that’s when they contacted Channel 9.

“It was really kind of hard to go through Facebook,” Gibson said.

“I felt like I was just running in circles all day, trying to get the page taken down,” Wysocki said. “I never want anyone to feel like their information isn’t safe with us,” she added.

Stoogenke emailed Facebook, and the company blocked the last remaining account.

Facebook stated that it has a team dedicated to undermining scammers. According to Facebook, it has caught 1.3 billion fake accounts from July to September last year, although it admits that its technology isn’t where it wants it to be.

Stoogenke says it’s important for business owners to report imposters. When reporting a page, be sure to select “pretending to be another business” as the reason. Facebook stated that choosing the wrong option, such as reporting it as “impersonation of a public figure,” could slow things down. It is OK to submit another report if you think you selected the wrong option.

To report a fake Facebook account, click here.

To report a fake Instagram account, click here.

Stoogenke also says shoppers need to be suspicious if someone asks for your financial information to claim a prize.

Action 9 helps Cornelius woman get refund for ‘free’ lab work

Cox Media Group