British Ice Skating has been made aware that a number of young skaters have recently been targeted by individuals using fake copies of Instagram accounts of established sports clothing companies.
These fake accounts are usually a very convincing copy of the original. They are used to build up a sizeable following of young people adding to their authenticity. Having built up a following, young people are then targeted with personalised messages, purporting to be from the owner of the company, asking them if they would like to become an ambassador for a particular clothing range.
These accounts have then requested young people send in video clips of themselves going into stretch yoga poses or other more compromising positions.
If approached on the platform it is vital to remember that bona fide sports clothing companies do not use Instagram to recruit ambassadors for their brands.
Therefore, if you or your child are approached in this way, please do not respond, and report the matter immediately to one of the following:
British Ice Skating, National Safeguarding Officer: safeguarding@iceskating.org.uk
Child Exploitation and Online Protection command: www.ceop.police.uk
Childline: www.childline.co.uk