An air ambulance charity has been forced to cancel a competition offering a VIP trip to its base after being targeted by online scammers.

Wales Air Ambulance has abandoned the competition after “a scammer” set up fake social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook in the charity’s name to gather personal and financial information from supporters.

It has urged its supporters not to click on any links associated with the accounts adding that to further ensure their safety “we have decided to cancel the competition”.

“We hope that this will further help you distinguish between our accounts and protect you from the fraudsters,” it told supporters in a statement.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Unfortunately, over the weekend a scammer has set up fake Instagram and Facebook accounts in our Charity’s name. They're using the competition to gain personal/financial details from our supporters.

Please do not click on any links associated with these accounts! pic.twitter.com/iVMLGftPqO

— Wales Air Ambulance Charity (@air_ambulance) May 23, 2022

“We are working tirelessly to find a way to get the relevant social media companies to act. Thank you for your support and understanding,” the statement adds.

Other advice it has offered supporters to help identify their real social media accounts is that its own account has more than 1,000 posts, rather than only one.

“We will never ask for any payment details or personal data via these platforms. If you come across this account please report it,” adds the charity’s statement.

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