Local Fylde Councillor, Brenda Blackshaw, has taken to Facebook to warn others that a FAKE instagram account has been set up using a photograph of her as a profile picture, under her name. The account name is ‘Bren.da’ and the user has been posing as the councillor and messaging various locals in order to scam or misguide the real Brenda’s contacts.

A scam has recently been circling the local area, with well known locals’ identities being taken, accounts hacked and their contacts messaged asking for money or card details. A few months back, in August, we reported a local who was scammed out of £400!

The victim was asked to send her ‘friend’, who’s account had been hacked, £400 to help pay a bill. The victim was an intelligent, successful business woman, who generously sent her friend money without question, only to find that her friend was hacked that afternoon and the money was gone!

If you receive a message from ‘Bren.da’ or any other friend asking for money, please give them a call or ask for another way for them to prove they are the person before sending money or any other sensitive information.

The internet is a great tool, but it can be dangerous, with scammers at an all time high this year!