EMR warn customers to be vigilant of fake social media accounts following uptick of scammers
- Spammers and fraudsters are creating fake EMR customer help accounts
- 14 X accounts identified and reported since August
- Customers advised to be careful and double check they are official before engaging with them
East Midlands Railway (EMR) is urging its customers to be vigilant for fake social media accounts pretending to be the train operator.
Since August, EMR has identified and reported 14 fake X accounts which are using EMR’s profile name, bio, profile image and cover photo to trick users - sometimes with the aim to defraud them.
To help, the train operator company is asking its customers to follow the following tips when they want to contact the company via social media.
Customers should:
- Always check the handle, make sure things are spelt correctly
- Check how long the account has been open – EMR opened its X account in October 2008
- If they are unsure, they should not give out any personal data - instead visit EMR Contact Us page to be confident they are speaking to EMR directly
- Never provide passwords - EMR will never ask you for one
- Only share personal data if they are totally certain their speaking to EMR
Any customer who think they have given details to a fake account, please report this to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/"
EMR has a number of ways to process financial payments with customers and will provide them a range of methods to choose from.
More information is on its website at https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/help-manage/manage/contact-us.
EMR's official social media accounts are:
- @EastMidRailway (Twitter/X) (This account has a blue tick to note official verification)
- @EMR_Press (Twitter/X) EMR's press office
- https://www.facebook.com/EastMidlandsRailway
- www.instagram.com/eastmidsrailway/
Philippa Cresswell, Customer Service Director at East Midlands Railway, said: "In recent months, we have seen a significant increase in the number of fake EMR accounts on social media. They are often quite convincing, and its easy to see how some of our customers could be fooled into thinking they are communicating with us.
"That's why we are urging our customers to double check before engaging and make sure to always check the social media handle.
"They should never provide passwords, and although our social media team do sometimes process payments, customers should never provide details unless they are certain it’s us they are talking to. If any customer thinks they have given their details to a scammer please report it to Action Fraud."