Parents with children on social media are being warned about a fake Instagram account that has been trying to get young people to send explicit photos of themselves.
St. Thomas police said Thursday the Instagram account using the name “karen_castte213” appears to have been created for the purpose of luring youth and convincing them to send nude pictures. The account has had interactions with more than 300 other accounts on the social media platform, raising concerns there could be multiple victims.
The person responsible for the phony account is believed to have duplicated it from that of an innocent person and added a random photo to present themselves as a teenage girl, police said.
Parents are asked to talk to their children about the dangers of online communication with strangers and to check their Instagram contact list to see if they are following this account.
If any photos have been exchanged with this account, parents should contact Detective Helaine Hindley at 519-631-1224 ext #4311 and refer to case number ST20020572.
