Scammers have been targeting the followers of popular financial influencers on social media, including journalist and entrepreneur Kalilah Reynolds, as well as YouTuber, Demetress Fairman.

The scammers have been creating fake profiles with the names, photos and videos of these influencers, and targeting their followers by sending them direct messages (DMs).  The fake pages often involve a slight misspelling of the influencers’ name or the pretense of being a “backup page”.

One of the most popular scams involves soliciting the influencers’ followers into sending money for cryptocurrency or other types of investment.

“It’s taken me three years to build my reputation and following on social media, and for someone to take advantage of the trust that I have garnered amongst my followers, is really reprehensible,” said Reynolds, adding that the problem has intensified over the past three months.

The CEO of Kalilah Reynolds Media said she has reported the matter to the police, as well as to Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.  She is encouraging others to report the fake profiles to the various social media platforms as well.

“I hate to think that there are people out there who actually sent money to these crooks because they trusted my name.  I will never solicit money in this way from my followers.  Any product or service that I offer can be accessed directly through my website kalilahreynolds.com,” she said.

Meanwhile, Fairman is warning social media users to look for red flags.

“My Instagram page was used as a means to scam people into participating in a cryptocurrency purchase which offered people unimaginable profits (red flag).  They have made pages identical to mine and as soon as you report it to Instagram, the scammers make another.  I just want everyone who follows me to be cautious and do their research.  I will not promise them profits and sell them a fake dream,” said Fairman.