Local tailoring company Eveni Carruthers has warned the public to be aware of a fake account that is using their name on Facebook to get people into an illegal pyramid or gifting scheme.

Eveni Carruthers Marketing Director, Hether Vaai, told the Samoa Observer in an email that the social media scam targeting their company is a first time it is happening. 

“While it wasn’t a very sophisticated scam, we have noticed this latest attempt is becoming a common feature whereby people create fake personal Facebook accounts using our registered name, trademarks and content and then try to mislead people to fraudulently extract personal and financial information,” she said.

“In this case, additional fake scam accounts were created and then would comment on the giveaway posts with “they won”, “it really works” etc to try and legitimize the account and entice others to follow suit.

“We highly recommend anyone who chooses to use these social media platforms to always be cautious when online. Do not give away any personal or financial information. Do not click on any suspicious links. Use the same scrutiny and judgement you would in the real world as the digital world.

“Our official websites have never had this happen and are hosted on heavily fortified online platforms to guard against scams and hacking.”

Ms. Vaai explained that they have received feedback from customers and are grateful to those who managed to pick it up so quickly.

“We have a specific team set up to monitor and respond to queries. Our official Facebook page is @EveniCarruthers and the latest fake Facebook account is under the username @EveniCarruthersOfficial and is a private account that will first send you a friend request,” she added. 

Warning that the online scam attempts to extract personal and financial information, she said the company does not ask for that sort of information from customers. 

“The fake page is also trying to extract personal and financial information from those visiting the fake page. Please note we never ask for any personal and financial information on any open and unsecure online social media platform.”

She said the fake page when it first appeared was reported immediately to Facebook.

“We have also advised those who have come across the fake page to also report to Facebook as there is a pattern of these fake pages being replicated in different versions,” she said.

“As of today, the giveaway scam post has been removed off Facebook, however the fake scam accounts still remain on Facebook. These fraudulent accounts may still be contacting people via private message.”

“We see the huge value of online commerce but we need to be vigilant to keep the security of the online platforms. We remind all users and followers to be cautious and contact us via phone +685 21414 or email [email protected] if they need anything verified. Our websites - www.evenicarruthers.com and www.evenipacific.com are hosted on highly fortified online servers to safeguard our customers.”

The company had issued a notice on social media on Monday warning the public about the fraudulent account.

“It has come to our attention that there is another fraudulent Facebook Account active from today 25th January 2021 at approximately 7am, going under the username “EveniCarruthersofficial” and a website that has copied our name, trademarks & most recent content,” the notice reads.

The notice also reveals that the fake account has been reported to Facebook.

According to the notice, the fraudulent account will send you a friend request and messages asking for your credit card details to register to a giveaway that the company does not have.

It further reads that the account will also ask you to join an illegal pyramid/gifting scheme to earn money.

In the notice, Eveni Carruthers asks the public to be cautious and aware of these fake pages and accounts.

“We would never ask for your personal information and credit card details through Facebook or any other social media platform. Eveni Carruthers businesses run on 'pages' not a personal account. We will NOT send you a friend request,” the Eveni Carruthers notice reads.

“We ask you to help us in reporting this scam account to Facebook by reporting under a ‘fake account’ and to share this message to others so that they’re aware.”