A person claiming to be from the Sticky TV children’s show has reportedly been approaching parents on social media in an attempt to take photographs of their children.
On its Facebook page, Sticky TV has warned parents to be vigilant, and says the person has been using an individual account.
The show – which screens on Three – says it will only approach people using its official social media accounts.
“All competitions are housed on our official Facebook page, Instagram and website.”
It said it would only request contact details if somebody had won a competition they had entered.
Parents who are approached have been urged to contact police, and those who have already given their details to the individual should contact Netsafe for advice.
Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker said it was a problem that cropped up fairly regularly.
“In this case, the particular brand they are using is Sticky TV, but it passes from one to another.”
He said there had been a number of complaints about this most recent example, and the matter had been referred to the police.
Mr Cocker said parents needed to remember that while this appeared to be the work of a single individual who was likely to be caught, there would be more people trying to scam them and they needed to “keep a look-out all the time”.
The key thing when contacted by someone claiming to represent a show like Sticky TV was to not follow the path they offered.
“Say that’s great, but I’ll call the programme or the producer or the company and then go back to them that way. So you’re not caught in the loop of the criminal scammer.”
This story first appeared on Radio New Zealand.
