Bushra Ansari is tired of fake accounts scamming people for money in her name
Are you also tired of seeing fake IDs clutter your feed? Or worse, watching your own pictures get lifted and used to scam people? Well, so is Bushra Ansari.
The veteran actor has had enough of what she calls “cheap pages” employing “cheap tactics”: using her photos to run fake accounts and pose as her while asking the public for money in the name of charity. She is so fed up, in fact, that she took to Instagram to issue a stern warning — and a full-blown rant — for her followers.
On Monday, Ansari posted a video on Instagram, bluntly titled: “Now bikharis (beggars) on social media [are] using my fake IDs. Please don’t follow them!”
In the video, she ranted about the growing number of fake accounts operating under her name, using pictures lifted from her Instagram to solicit donations. Some, she revealed, claimed Thursday was a religious day to help the poor; others went a step further, saying they were setting up an NGO to “help the poor and widows”.
“There is no shortage of shameless people in this world,” she lamented.
In the same video, Ansari also flagged one of the most recent fake accounts, warning followers about a page using a fresh photo of her, one in which she was wearing a bindi. Urging people not to fall into the trap, she reminded them that this was not the first time she had raised the issue.
“I have put a video like this earlier as well that please don’t follow these fake accounts of mine. Day before yesterday, there was a fresh picture of mine where I had put a bindi on my forehead. There is an account with that picture, too. Before that, as well, I don’t know, they somehow take my private pictures from my Instagram and then beg [for money] using them.”
Visibly exhausted by the ongoing ordeal, Ansari said that despite repeatedly reporting and blocking these pages, the problem persists. She also made it clear that if she ever chooses to help someone, she does so privately, and has never gone out “to collect funds”.
To leave no room for confusion, she reminded fans of her official accounts: ansari.bushra on Instagram, Bushra Bashir on Facebook, and another Facebook account where she is sitting on a tonga as Saima Chaudhry in her display picture, in true Bushra Ansari fashion.
Social media may be many things, but scam-free isn’t one of them. And when a “celebrity” pops up asking for charity, it’s all too easy to let your guard down. So do yourself (and your wallet) a favour — double-check, stay sharp, and don’t fall for the fake IDs. Consider this your official scam alert, courtesy Ansari.
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