The SHL forward was alerted to someone pretending to be him. Someone had contacted the club and told them about a strange social media account.
"Then I started searching around myself. There were two different profiles in my name," says Karlkvist.
He says that he received help from the club to report the accounts, which disappeared, but that another profile in his name then appeared.
"It's funny that someone has to pretend to be me. If someone posts pictures or shares things, that's one thing. But when they start talking to people, it gets a little weird," he says.
It's really weird. It's really unpleasant.
Clubs warn
Karlkvist has not reported the fake accounts to the police himself and does not know if the club has done so.
"I don't know if it became so serious that it was needed. But it will be if it continues," he says.
Karlkvist is not alone in being affected. In Luleå, several players have been affected and the club recently went on its website and warned supporters about fake accounts on social media.
The reason why fake accounts are created in the names of stars is to get in touch with supporters in order to ultimately commit fraud.
"It is very unlikely that a player or other public figure will contact you privately without reason. Our players will never ask you for money, bank details or other personal information," Luleå wrote on its website.
We have seen this before, but now it has increased. Here you steal someone's identity and try to deceive a person that way and it is really bad, says SHL CEO Jenny Silfverstrand.
“Completely reprehensible”
The clubs are working on this and we are trying to support them with the networks we have so that those profiles can be removed as soon as possible.
Silfverstrand thinks it's "really bad" to steal someone's identity to deceive other people.
You are playing on other people's deep commitment and feelings for teams and players. The phenomenon is completely reprehensible.
Online fraud via fake accounts is a method where fraudsters create fake profiles on social media, dating sites or marketplaces to defraud them of money, personal information or hijack the identities of others.
Fraudsters using the names of famous sports figures can be likened to romance scams where the fraudster builds a relationship with supporters and then asks for money.
Here is a summary of Luleå Hockey's tips on how to avoid being fooled by online scammers:
+ It is unlikely that a player or other public figure will contact you privately without reason. Our players will never ask you for money, bank details or other personal information.
+ Review the profile before accepting unexpected friend requests. Fake profiles are often newly created and have few or no posts of their own. They often have few followers while following many other accounts.
