Scammers target Air Ambulance charity using fake social media accounts
An air ambulance charity has been forced to cancel a competition after fake social media accounts were set up to cash in on people's generosity.
The Wales Air Ambulance discovered the scam over the weekend. It says it is campaigning to get social media companies to sort out problems of fraudsters.
A spokesperson for the charity, which has a base at Welshpool airfield said on Friday it set up a competition with a chance to to win a VIP trip to one of its bases.
"Unfortunately, over the weekend, a scammer or scammers set up fake Instagram and Facebook accounts in our charity’s name.
"They were using the competition to gain personal and financial details from our supporters. Their intentions were fraudulent."
The charity urged its supporters not to click on any links associated with the fake accounts which were asking people to register their details.
"For the safety of our supporters, we have decided to cancel the competition. We hope that this will further help members of the public to distinguish between our accounts and protect them from the fraudsters.
"We are working tirelessly to find a way to get the relevant social media companies to act."
The charity thanked everyone for their support and understanding on the matter.
"It's a sad world where somebody would want to target a lifesaving Charity."
"We will never ask for any payment details or personal data via these social media platforms."
Wales Air Ambulance covers the whole of Wales and has to raise £8 million every year to operate the service.
"Each year, we attend over 3,500 missions by air and by road, covering rural countryside and our bustling towns and cities. This includes the length of our Welsh coastline and across our vast mountain ranges.
"We rely entirely on the public’s support to help keep the helicopters flying.
"The charity does not receive direct funding from the government and we do not qualify for National Lottery funding.
"Our helicopters are kept in the air through charitable donations, fundraising events and membership of our in-house Lifesaving Lottery."
The matter has been reported to the police.
