The PSNI has warned the public to remain "vigilant" after a local TikTokker was duped into signing up for CPR training after believing that she had been selected to attend a beauty launch.
Lauren Collins took to TikTok earlier this week to share how a fake account purporting to be BPerfect owner Brendan McDowell had duped her into signing up for CPR training under the auspices that she had won a competition to attend their product launch on Friday night.
Sharing the details with her followers, Lauren had said she entered a competition the night prior for 20 "rising creators" to win an invite to the product launch.
"So, I last night seen that BPerfect was running a competition for rising influencers to be able to come to their event this Friday," she said.
"There was a couple of people who tagged me in it and I said why not? Let's apply for it. I woke up this morning and Brendan [McDowell] from BPerfect had replied to my comment 'congrats mate, you have won. Click the link below and follow the steps'.
"So I clicked the link below and it said you need to complete one to two of the following. One was to download and open TikTok, I done that, I have TikTok so it was just a matter of going in.
"The second one was apply for a £250 ASDA voucher. At that point, I did think that this was a bit strange, so I done it anyway. I filled out all the steps, went back and it still wasn't allowing me to access my invite."
Lauren said that she decided to do the third activity, and that is when she found herself doing CPR on a pillow while her webcam recorded her.
"The next one was to apply to the British Heart Foundation and get a CPR certificate. I thought, oh, okay I will do this one.
"I am sitting in my living room with two pillows before 9am compressing while being recorded on the webpage as it accessed my camera and it was going "good job", "go slower", "go faster". I went back, it still wasn't working, so I thought somethings not right here, I need to let Brendan know that there is something not right here, it is not letting me access my invite.
"I went to message Brendan and it was a fake account... on the bright side, we are looking for the silver lining and I am now certified in CPR."
Lauren later confirmed in the comments that after her ordeal, she received an official invite to the event.
A PSNI spokesperson said: "With continuing reports of scams and attempted scams being reported, the Police Service of Northern Ireland is urging everyone to be vigilant. No matter how convincing that message or email may seem, stop and take a few minutes before you transfer any money or disclose any personal details, especially to anyone you don’t know.
"Do not feel rushed or pressured by timelines. Check and verify who you’re communicating with, using a trusted source.
"No matter the nature or the workings of a scam, the end goal for criminals is always the same. They want your information to steal your money and all they need is for people to let their guard down for just a moment. We encourage everyone to be vigilant and on their guard against scammers. Have conversations with friends and family to raise awareness of scams. Do everything you can to protect yourself and your money from ending up in the hands of criminals.
"Stop. Check. Report.
"Stop - Before you transfer money or disclose any personal details to anyone you do not know. Do not feel rushed or pressured by timelines - genuine callers will always give you time to consider your options.
"Check - Check and verify who you are communicating with using a trusted source. Take time to verify callers on another phone line where possible and check images via an image search. If you are in any doubt do not transfer any money or goods.
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English (United States) ·