Children’s event advertised to take place at Glenelg has been revealed to be a scam

[Nergal]

 

A FAKE event targeting children between 10 and 14 has been revealed to be a scam.

The intentions of the organisers, who have not been identified, are unknown to police.

The event, to be held at Glenelg, was advertised through an Adelaide “buy and sell” social media page and used the name of a popular cartoon network.

Organisers suggested online that children could be dropped off at the venue.

Concerned parents tried to contact the organisers but were blocked online.

They informed police, who confirmed there were no legitimate links with the location or the cartoon network.

The owner of the profile which posted the event has not been identified.

South Australian Police are reminding the community to look into the backgrounds of services and events advertised online.

“Unfortunately scammers will attempt to take advantage of people in a wide variety of ways — including via email, social media sites, traditional mail and phone calls,” a police spokesman said.

“Using the name of a legitimate, credible brand or government agency is a common practice in order to establish trust.

“Police urge the public to make independent checks before providing any organisation with money, or using services or events aimed at children.”

The scam is similar to a series of social media posts targeting children between 10 and 15 in Perth which posed as auditions for a Nickelodeon Slimefest show.

The posts were placed on a buy/swap/sell page and provided details of studio in Perth which didn’t exist.

Parents quickly alerted police after online conversations took a sinister turn with the organisers appearing to groom children during video phone calls.