As F1’s popularity continues to increase around the world, all the stakeholders of the sport also receive more attention. And while there are several perks that come with increased fame, there are also some downsides. F1TV presenter Laura Winter learned this the hard way recently when a random stranger impersonated her.
In the social media age, it gets very hard to sort out suspicious accounts from legitimate ones. Winter, who is renowned in the world of motorsport, had someone cook up an Instagram account in her name to dupe fans into believing it was actually her.
But she took prompt action by reporting the impersonator and urged her fans to do the same. “Not me. Please report. Thank you. It’s truly so strange people do this,” she wrote in her stories.
F1 Presenter Laura Winter Asks for Fan Support to Take Down Fake Account pic.twitter.com/5pgET3qME9
— Anirban Aly Mandal (@AnirbanF1) February 16, 2025
This instance would be easy for the fans to single out and notice as the account looks like a fake at first glance itself. There are no posts made by the impersonator and the account only has three followers.
Moreover, the moderators over at Instagram don’t take such violations lightly. So, Winter can be rest assured that the concerned team will be taking prompt action against the account and getting it off the platform. That said, this isn’t the first time a high-profile name attached to the sport has found impersonators with dubious intentions.
When Nicolas Hamilton was targeted by a TikTok fraudster
Incidents of people trying to impersonate famous celebrities and influencers are a very common occurrence on social media platforms. Earlier this year, Lewis Hamilton’s brother was also caught in this vicious web on the content-creation platform, TikTok.
An impersonator had used Nicolas’ picture and name to dupe fans. The account was accused of “talking to people about their disabilities and asking them for money for a meet and greet“. Once Nicolas noticed this, he took prompt action.
He reported to his fans, “So sorry for the harm this account has caused, it’s not me.” Thankfully, the account was taken down almost instantly and was banned by TikTok. “Great job team, love you all,” he wrote in a story to thank his fans.
