Gold Coast woman involved in Lorna Jane photo scam: ‘It’s incredibly creepy’
A GOLD Coast woman says she was tricked into handing over photos of herself to a man who claimed to be a representative from the popular fitness brand Lorna Jane.
A GOLD Coast woman says she was tricked into handing over photos of herself to a man who claimed to be a representative from the popular fitness brand Lorna Jane.
A man calling himself Victor has been approaching young Australian women via telephone and asking them to send him photos of themselves wearing Lorna Jane clothing, specifically sports bras and shorts.
The company was made aware of the situation after Sally*, 32, posted a Facebook status about her experience with a person she believed to be a Lorna Jane representative.
About a month ago Sally received a phone call from Victor, who said the brand was looking for models for an upcoming campaign.
The man conducted a Skype interview with Sally, who was wearing Lorna Jane clothes, and he asked her to send him photos of herself.
“He was very professional, very convincing, very legitimate in how he came across,” Sally told news.com.au.
“There was nothing that said, ‘This isn’t totally normal’. He was wearing business attire [on the Skype chat] and he seemed professional. There was nothing obvious [to suggest otherwise],” she said.
After sending through several photos, Sally received an abusive phone call last week from the man.
“He said, ‘If you do this, you need to lose 5-6kg, you need to go and get Botox’. I have rheumatoid arthritis and he said, ‘We have to remove any of that because it would be off-putting for the customer’.
“This was the point where I thought, what the hell is going on? I literally told him to go f*** himself.
“I posted a status on Facebook saying, ‘What the hell? I just got this insane phone call’ and it got loads of comments and shares.”
A Brisbane news website ran a story last week reporting Sally’s allegations against “a representative of the company”, but did not indicate that the man did not actually work for the company.
Lorna Jane became aware of the matter after reading the story and contacted Sally on Monday.
“As soon as I told them, ‘His name is Victor’, they knew straight away. They said they’ve received a few complaints from women who said this guy had approached them,” Sally said.
Lorna Jane’s public relations manager Belinda Zordan says the company immediately started investigating the claims and notified police.
News.com.au understands Lorna Jane is yet to lodge an official complaint, but is in talks with the Brisbane Cyber Crime Unit about how to move forward. Sally has not approached the authorities.
“Unfortunately this person has preyed upon young women, knowing how much they trust the Lorna Jane brand, and taken advantage of them for the purpose of gathering photos for his own personal use,” Ms Zordan said in a statement.
“He has approached girls via a blocked telephone number, never met them in person and emailed them via a Gmail email account claiming that he works for the company.
“To feature in a Lorna Jane catalogue is highly desirable for many young women, but our customer safety is paramount. Lorna Jane prides itself on empowering women and positivity and will continue to stay true to these values despite the media choosing to report otherwise.”
Sally says her biggest concern is if other women are duped into “going further”.
“It’s incredibly creepy to think that there’s some guy out there approaching other women,” she said.
“My concern is that there is a vulnerable young woman out there who he will be able to convince to meet face to face or pose for nude photos. I don’t know what his endgame is.”
This the latest in a series of negative headlines for the active wear brand.
Earlier this month Lorna Jane hit back against claims it “fat shamed” a store manager, who says she is too traumatised to return to work.
Amy Louise Robinson filed a $548,000 legal claim against the fitness retailer in Brisbane last month, claiming management tried to cover up the bullying and harassment she allegedly suffered from other staff.
In July, the brand was criticised for running a job ad for a combined “Receptionist/Fit Model”, which included physical measurement requirements for potential applicants.
* Name has been changed upon request
Know more? Contact rebecca.sullivan@news.com.au or vanessa.brown@news.com.au. You can remain anonymous if you wish.