April the giraffe fans are all excited about Jungle Bells, a Christmas initiative by Animal Adventure Park. The event will begin on December 2, and preparations are in full swing to make the program memorable.

Meanwhile, Jordan Patch, the owner of Animal Adventure Park, has asked the community to stay vigilant as swindlers on social media are trying to take advantage of innocent animal lovers by masquerading as April the giraffe fans.

What happened?

Animal Adventure Park has millions of fans around the world, who often connect with likeminded giraffe lovers on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

It is customary for any Facebook user who has visited the park to share their personal experience with their giraffe-loving friends. These AAP lovers usually share photos of their visit to the zoo, hoping that others in the group, who haven’t had the opportunity, could enjoy the lovely moments captured.

It has come to light that scammers have infiltrated Facebook groups using fake Facebook accounts to steal photos and videos. The stolen visuals are used in a website called “USPOTUS.COM."

The website, which is being updated everyday, sees active participation from supporters of Animal Adventure Park, who have no knowledge that they are being duped. This website uses copyrighted images of animals from various zoos on their T-shirts and other merchandise.

Besides photographs and videos, the website has also stolen drawings and painting from animal artists.

For Patch, it is personal

In an interview with Blasting News, Jordan Patch opened up about the issue.

“My disgust with this website and its operator(s) goes well past the business world and the theft of our images and content, it is personal,” he said.

Animal Adventure Park became aware of this site and its operator well before the birth of Tajiri. “This has been an ongoing game of cat and mouse. Facebook and Youtube have been very helpful, then and now, with removing the pages and channels on their respective platforms. We have identified the site owner, his Asian country of origin, and most recently the company hosting his page.

Our legal teams are working on the matter,” he said.

Personal images were misused

In October, the “USPOTUS” website used Jordan Patch’s daughter’s images on their merchandise. Ava was undergoing a surgery at the time.

“We have been absolutely appalled and disgusted with their use of images of my daughter in the hospital in the attempt to generate site traffic. They went as far as to offer merchandise for sale with her and/or her name on it. The operator(s) of this page have dug deep into my online "personal life,” stealing photos and family memories for their gross misuse. As a business owner, of course, we are mad that our supporters are duped into believing the content is from us. As a parent, my heart is broken that these images are now out and accessible by the world.

It isn't right. Exploitation of a child is an all time low,” he said.

Now scammers, in an attempt to dupe more giraffe lovers, have set up another website duplicating Animal Adventure Park. This website has “.ORG” domain extension, whereas the genuine Animal Adventure Park website has a “.COM” domain.

Admins on Facebook groups have issued an alert, warning their members to stay safe.

Was this news article helpful? Follow the author on Facebook for more giraffe news.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED