ABC contributor Dylan Storer’s identity stolen in Kimberley flood donation scam

An ABC contributor based in Fitzroy Crossing, who has been covering the floods since the start of the historic weather event, has had his identity stolen in a flood donation scam. Dylan Storer has been filing and crossing live to the national broadcaster since the devastating floods inundated the remote Kimberley town last week. Taking advantage of the contributor’s trust within the community, scammers created a Twitter account under Mr Storer’s name before putting out the call for donations. Mr Storer responded in frustration after he was made aware of the fake account by another Twitter user, @Sharon_Davis_. “This is infuriating,” Mr Storer said. “Please make sure you are only using reliable sources and legitimate websites when donating to the disaster recovery effort in the Kimberley.” The fake account had the same Twitter handle as Mr Storer’s legitimate account which left one Twitter user ,@Sharon_Davis_, wondering how two identical handles could exist at once. “Am I blind?,” they said. “These usernames look exactly the same. How is that even possible @TwitterSupport?” The fake account asked for people to donate directly through PayPal. It comes after Consumer Protection WA issued a warning for people to make sure their flood donations go to official charities, not scammers. Consumer Protection commissioner Trish Blake said scammers often use social media to lure their victims. There may be pop-up ads on social media sites or scam pages with evocative imagery that direct people to fake websites where donations are stolen, as well as personal and credit card information,” Ms Blake said. “The scammers may also set up bogus Go Fund Me pages that pretend to raise money for individual victims or send out emails and texts impersonating official charities to promote these fake appeals. “The best way not to get scammed is to only donate to licensed charities or official fundraisers like the Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund to ensure the money goes to the right cause.” It is understood the account impersonating Mr Storer was later removed by Twitter.