Twitch star Imane “Pokimane” Anys is one of the smartest streamers on the block. She’s not easily fooled. But even she almost fell victim to an elaborate scam—if not for a dead giveaway.
The scammer came up with a crafty method to try to trick her into sending them topless photos, and Pokimane was so shocked by how elaborate it was, she felt the need to warn others about it.
“I was recently almost blackmailed and wanted to share what happened to me as a precautionary tale,” she said. “I uploaded the storytime on my TikTok. Highly recommend, especially for smaller creators. Be careful what you share online!”
In the video, Pokimane said the scammer contacted her using a fake email address and pretended to be a representative from Neiwai, a lingerie and loungewear brand that she uses regularly.
At first, she thought it was legitimate. They used a similar email address to the one the company used, pretended to forward emails from their ‘boss’ within the company, and even made a fake website.
The scammer made it seem like they wanted her to advertise a new bra line they were launching and wanted her measurements and address so they could send her three custom bras. It wasn’t long before she realized they were after something else—topless photos.
“I realized that they weren’t showing me how to take my measurements. They were asking me to put a tape measure around me and send me a photo of my bare chest,” she explained.
“No company is going to ask you to send them a photo of your [breasts]. That’s when I realized, this whole time, I’d been speaking to a scammer!
Pokimane said the amount of effort the scammer put in is “both comical and frightening.” Had she actually fallen for it, she figured they’d probably used the photo to blackmail and extort her.
What’s more, Pokimane said her friend’s manager fell for a similar scam, so it might be pretty common.
“Please take this as a precautionary tale to really always do your due diligence with whoever you’re working with online,” she said. “Be careful with what information you’re sharing, especially if you’re a smaller creator. And never trust someone with a hotmail!”
