Online realities can shift into real-life nightmares in an instant.
Kinga Heming is well known for her voice in the Okanagan and has been singing jazz tunes at venues throughout the valley for years.
“I received a text message from a girlfriend of mine saying that I think your Facebook has been hacked,” said Heming.
Heming found that her Facebook profile had, in fact, been hacked.
“(My friend) says, ‘Well, apparently you have an uncle selling a whole bunch of items because he’s moving into a retirement facility.’”
As a trusted name in the Okanagan, the singer has gone from famous to infamous.
“People were actually believing that, because with my profile, it was me,” said Heming.
“So there was messages that were, you know, that were sent to my profile, just requesting these items and people were sending deposits.”
Then the scammer posted several false ads on Facebook Marketplace, posing as Heming. She says the scammer has taken at least $10,000 from people, including friends.
Lorraine Bromley has known Heming for years, and reached out when she saw who she thought was her friend selling a car.
“I said, ‘I’m interested,’” said Bromley.
“Who I thought was her (said), ‘Oh, send me a deposit,’ and that they won’t show it to anybody else.”
Bromley is one of the victims of the false ads. She says she had her suspicions, but because she knows Heming, she decided to trust her and send a deposit for $1,000 for a car.
“You’re always suspicious of a stranger, right? But … you never think that someone’s going to hack into your friend’s account and act like them and ask you for money,” said Bromley.
Heming and several of the victims have reported the incident to the RCMP. The RCMP says it’s aware of similar scams circulating online and issued a warning last year. The RCMP recommends always making Marketplace transactions in public places near security cameras.
Heming has since regained access to her Facebook account, but she questions how long she will retain it for.
“It was honestly a full-time job trying to get this guy off my account. And every time I managed to finally get in, he somehow managed to get around me,” said Heming.
Heming and her partner, Brad Krauza, have tried to get the word out that they have been hacked. However, the scammer shared their home address with many frustrated victims.
“We’re thinking even (when we are) going to bed at night to make sure all the doors are locked,” said Krauza.
“She was worried about, you know, somebody coming to the house.”
Heming has locked down her account again but the messages haven’t stopped, as more frustrated victims continue to flood her inbox.