| Scammers alert | |||
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| 2018-10-13 22:53:02 | |||
ADMIN  Forum Posts: 3075 Comments: 405 Reviews: 1 | This is to alert everyone to a new wave of scammers on Instagram pretending to be Keanu Reeves. Their current mode of operation is to build up a friendship or romance with unsuspecting users, slowly gaining their trust (sometimes with photoshopped photos, fake documents and so on, even phone calls) before suddenly pretending to be in urgent need of money and asking for financial help. Others make fake offers of fan tours or opportunities to meet Keanu, and ask for personal information.
Some now add that they don't 'usually' use social media but have decided to make an exception to connect with fans, or that they got their 'assistant' to tell people that Keanu is not on social media so as to protect his privacy or deter impersonators. None of this is true. Keanu is not on Instagram or any other social media. He has said so repeatedly. If he is on social media, most likely it's a private account for personal friends and family. Please take care of yourselves out there, and inform any friends or family who might be particularly vulnerable to online scammers. Identifying Fake Accounts - An official page for a celebrity or any public figure will have a blue verification badge next to their name. It looks like this: If an account does not have this tick (or the equivalent verification for that website), you should be suspicious. There have been cases where fake celebrity accounts managed to get verified, but this is very rare and so far hasn't happened with any of the Keanu impersonators. - Note the level of English being used - Keanu is a native English speaker, and many scammers are not. Many of them target non-native English speakers who may not notice the differences. - If Keanu is actually on social media, he would likely have at least tens of thousands of followers. This isn't fool-proof - a fake Keanu Facebook account once got more than half a million followers before it was shut down - but if the account has only a hundred or so followers, even just a few thousand, it is a warning sign. - If their entire page is full of either photos of Keanu from photoshoots, or what look like Photoshopped mashups of multiple photos, or inspirational quotes taken from around the internet, that's another huge warning sign. - Never send money to anyone claiming to be a celebrity. They have more money than you. If Keanu does indeed end up in a financial emergency or be somehow unable to access his funds, this will firstly be on the news, and secondly he's not going to resort to asking for money from some fan he's chatting to online. An exception would be verified celebrity accounts asking for support for charities and other causes. This is usually done on the specific charity website or a trusted third-party site. It is never done via bank transfer to a bank in Turkey or Nigeria. Should a celebrity be raising funds for a particular cause, it will also be on the news, so do a quick Google search to see if it's been mentioned on any trusted news sites. - Never send your bank details or other personal information to anyone claiming to be a celebrity. This includes phone numbers, addresses, full names, credit card numbers, and any other identifying information. Reporting Fake Accounts: Twitter: https://help.twitter.com/forms/impersonation Instagram: If you are signed into an Instagram account, go to their profile and click the three dots next to their user name. Select 'Report User', then 'Other', then 'Impersonation'. If you don't have an Instagram account, use this form: https://help.instagram.com/contact/584460464982589 Select 'An entire profile is abusive', and then mention in the description that the profile is impersonating someone. Facebook: Thanks, everyone. | ||
| 2018-10-13 23:00:04 | |||
ADMIN Forum Posts: 3075 Comments: 405 Reviews: 1 | Please comment with any known fake accounts that are still active. I'll update this post as we go along; I'm happy to see that many of them have already been deleted.
(Note: don't include fan pages that state they are fan pages. This is solely for accounts that pretend to be Keanu.) https://www.instagram.com/keanucharlesreeves11111/ https://twitter.com/mrkreeves
Twitter: Instagram: | ||
| 2018-10-14 01:04:44 | |||
| Forum Posts: 4842 Comments: 381 Reviews: 13 | SIGH :(
here we go... https://www.facebook.com/keanucharles.reeves.503 https://www.facebook.com/keanu.charles.5648137 https://twitter.com/KeanuReevesoff1
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| Debi | 2018-10-16 06:31:51 | ||
Forum Posts: 6 Comments: 0 Reviews: 0 | This site is definitely not a fan site and making contact with women to establish a relationship using Keanus backstory, including his sad loss :(, these people are really lower than low. Also getting women to connect with him through google hangout. I'm quite savvy but I worry about the number of fans who believe this site to be real and will think he is contacting them privately. https://www.instagram.com/keanureevesprivate/ | ||
| 2018-10-16 11:17:21 | |||
ADMIN Forum Posts: 3075 Comments: 405 Reviews: 1 | The two Facebook pages have been taken down! | ||
| Debi | 2018-10-16 14:58:05 | ||
Forum Posts: 6 Comments: 0 Reviews: 0 | The one I highlight is an Instagram account and is still there | ||
| 2018-10-16 23:32:30 | |||
| Forum Posts: 4842 Comments: 381 Reviews: 13 | all we can do is keep reporting it until instagram finally suspends it. | ||
| Debi | 2018-10-16 23:54:41 | ||
Forum Posts: 6 Comments: 0 Reviews: 0 | is it possible to find out who is behind the site and where they are based? | ||
| 2018-10-17 00:02:32 | |||
| Forum Posts: 4842 Comments: 381 Reviews: 13 | I don't know much about how instagram works, but I guess we can only see what the account owner chooses to disclose in their profile.
From instagram's terms of use | ||
| Debi | 2018-10-17 04:49:45 | ||
Forum Posts: 6 Comments: 0 Reviews: 0 | I reported the site earlier, I now can’t see it, have I been blocked from it or has it been taken down? | ||
| 2018-10-17 23:02:40 | |||
| Forum Posts: 4842 Comments: 381 Reviews: 13 | yes, looks like that account has been closed.
I found a bunch of other 'private' accounts which look suspicious but so far can't tell if they are also scammers. they do seem impersonators, though https://www.instagram.com/keanu_reeves_private/ https://www.instagram.com/keanu__reeves__private/ https://www.instagram.com/mr.keanu_reeves/ https://www.instagram.com/keanu_reevesprivatepage/ | ||
| Debi | 2018-10-17 23:06:13 | ||
Forum Posts: 6 Comments: 0 Reviews: 0 | Officialk.reeves - I have had a request from this site asking for me to make a donation to his (Keanu’s) foundation. This is how I replied!
Ok..firstly you are NOT Keanu Reeves, you are a fraud attempting to get money out of people by using the kindness and generosity of Keanu. He would never ask for money in this way, you are completely and utterly despicable for what you are doing. Karma is a bitch and you will get your comeuppance for your actions one day. I’m on to you and intend to report you so i suggest you take yourself off Instagram right now!! | ||
| 2018-10-18 02:59:50 | |||
Forum Posts: 43 Comments: 4 Reviews: 0 | I wonder if they are teens trying to make a quick buck... | ||
| 2018-10-23 02:50:37 | |||
| Forum Posts: 4842 Comments: 381 Reviews: 13 | well it seems that instagram is simply swarming with fake accounts...
followed this one, who quickly messaged me but when they found out I'm from Romania and married, stopped chatting - guess I didn't fit their profile. should have lied :| the chat didn't get to the point of asking money, so can't accuse them of scamming. then this one went 'I've seen your lovely face online and I hope to be your friend and even more' - yeah, sure, dude. here's a bunch more
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| Debi | 2018-10-23 02:54:34 | ||
Forum Posts: 6 Comments: 0 Reviews: 0 | Thanks for this, I’ve had 4 different Keanu accounts messaging me, ones asked for money so far..such a nuisance! | ||
| 2018-10-24 03:31:33 | |||
| Forum Posts: 4842 Comments: 381 Reviews: 13 | so, today was contacted on instagram by keanureeves_private and basically the questions and the whole chat pattern was the same as for keanu_charles1. Where are you from, are you married, etc. I tried playing it coy but didn't work; hearing that I'm from Romania and that I avoided telling them whether I'm married or not they weren't interested and dropped out of the chat.
I guess that it's basically just a handful of people,each running at least one dozen accounts... the m.o. seemed to be the same in two cases out of three. | ||
| 2018-10-24 14:53:35 | |||
ADMIN Forum Posts: 3075 Comments: 405 Reviews: 1 | All the instagram accounts have been deleted! With thanks to either Cheryl and/or the KeanuBeingAwesome subreddit. | ||
| 2018-10-25 01:07:59 | |||
| Forum Posts: 4842 Comments: 381 Reviews: 13 | well here's a new batch
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| 2018-10-25 03:10:32 | |||
Forum Posts: 43 Comments: 4 Reviews: 0 | It spreads fast, like a virus... | ||
| 2018-10-29 09:43:08 | |||
ADMIN Forum Posts: 3075 Comments: 405 Reviews: 1 | LOL SO SNEAKY WITH THAT FAKE VERIFIED TICK
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Make sure it is an actual verification and not just a photo - if you mouse over, it should say 'Verified Page' or something similar.
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