Police in St. Thomas, Ont., are warning the public about a fake Instagram that is being used “by an unknown individual for the purposes of luring youth into sending nude photographs.”
Detectives from the service’s internet child exploitation unit believe the person behind the fake account used “well-known methods of duplicating the account of an innocent person and added a random photo found on the internet to present themselves as a teenaged girl.”
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Investigators believe the account has had interactions with over 300 accounts and say there may be multiple victims.
“Please talk to your child about the dangers of online communication with strangers and check their contact list to see if they are following this account or any other suspicious account,” police said in a release.
St. Thomas police believe the fake account is being used to lure youths into sending nude photos.
via St. Thomas police
Police did not say how they learned of the account or when the investigation began, but a small photo was provided showing an account name of karen__castte213.
Police ask that “if any photos have been exchanged,” members of the public contact Det. Helaine Hindley at 519-631-1224 ext. 4311 and refer to case #ST20020572.
