Imane “Pokimane” Anys recently opened up about almost getting blackmailed, leaving her feeling stunned.
On November 9, Pokimane tweeted that she was “almost blackmailed” and felt the need to share her story on TikTok so smaller creators could heed her warning and learn from her experience.
“Be careful what you share online,” Pokimane added.
Pokimane reveals weird influencer scam she almost fell for
Over on
TikTok, the PSA already has over 155 thousand views. In the video, Pokimane said that she almost fell for a “weird influencer scam.”
According to Pokimane, a loungewear company called Neiwai contacted her after she purchased a bra from them and talked about the products in a TikTok. Pokimane said it’s quite normal for companies to reach out in this circumstance. After some back and forth, Pokimane was sent a PowerPoint about their new collection.
Then, the employee asked Pokimane for her measurements and address so they could send her some custom bras.
After returning from a trip to New York,
Pokimane
started to get her measurements. But she read the email again and realized they didn’t want her to send her measurements. They wanted her to send a photo of her bare chest with the measuring tape around it.
“That’s when I realized the whole time, I was speaking to a scammer,” Pokimane exclaimed.
The scam was quite believable at first because the scammer had put in so much effort. They sent messages from a fake email, even forwarding messages from their alleged boss who also had a fake email from the company. They had even put together a professional-looking PowerPoint presentation. The scammer also followed up with her multiple times to imitate a potential business relationship.
“The amount of effort they put in is both comical and frightening,” Pokimane said.
She added that she was scared to think what the scammer would have done if they did get those photos of her chest. She pondered if they would extort her for money or try to blackmail her. Something similar had happened to a friend, Pokimane revealed without adding much detail.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
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