The holiday park company Center Parcs has removed links to its old X account from its website after a man who took over the account was contacted by genuine customers. Center Parcs deleted its X account in January, which meant the @CenterParcsUK handle became available. Carl Lennon, an IT consultant, registered an X account with this name when he noticed it was available, and said he started getting messages from customers asking to change their bookings. Center Parcs removed the link after being contacted by BBC News, and conceded the links "should have been removed" from its website when it stopped using X. "Center Parcs recently deactivated our X channel as it was no longer deemed an effective channel for us to use and our guests have several other ways to talk directly to us," a spokesperson told the BBC. Mr Lennon was looking to book a holiday with Center Parcs but changed his mind after he discovered the company was still linking to the dead X account from its website. "I was effectively thinking of handing over my data to them to do a booking, and thinking, 'Well, hang on, they don't seem to have very good security,'" he said. Companies often use social media accounts as a form of customer support, where people will message them for help. He has had requests from customers on a range of topics, including requests to change dates, rearrange payments, and add more people to bookings. "I don't know the legality of replying to their messages," he said, adding he has decided not to reply at all and only took on the handle as an experiment. But he said "someone malicious" could easily respond, asking customers to send payment details or other sensitive information to the X account. Mr Lennon says he tried contacting Center Parcs through various channels but had not been able to get a response, except for an acknowledgement of an email he had sent. After being told by BBC News that the link had been removed, he said "they didn't seem to take it seriously" when he contacted them three weeks ago. "I'm just a bit gobsmacked that it took them so long to sort out," he said. He said he will now deactivate the X account altogether. Some companies, including fashion brand Balenciaga, US supermarket Target andnewspaper The Guardianhave left X since Elon Musk took it over in 2022. In most cases, the accounts are still open but left dormant. In the case of Balenciaga, the account no longer exists, but cannot be claimed by a new user - suggesting access to it may still held by the company.
Center Parcs removes X account from website after fake account set up
TruthLens AI Suggested Headline:
"Center Parcs Deletes Links to Inactive X Account After Customer Confusion"
Bbc News
7.9
TruthLens AI Summary
Center Parcs, the holiday park company, has taken the step of removing links to its former X account from its website after a man, Carl Lennon, registered the account following its deactivation in January. After the official account was closed, the handle @CenterParcsUK became available, and Lennon, an IT consultant, began receiving messages from customers attempting to modify their bookings. The situation escalated when Lennon became aware that Center Parcs had not removed the link to the inactive account, which led him to question the company's security measures before he decided not to proceed with a booking. Center Parcs acknowledged that the links should have been removed when they ceased using the platform, stating that they found X to be ineffective for customer engagement, as they offer multiple other communication channels for guests to reach them directly.
Lennon reported receiving a variety of requests from customers, including changes to booking dates and payment arrangements. He expressed concern about the potential for malicious actors to exploit the situation by responding to customer inquiries and requesting sensitive information. Despite reaching out to Center Parcs through various communication methods, Lennon felt ignored, receiving only a brief acknowledgment of one of his emails. His frustration grew when he realized it took a report from BBC News to prompt the company to act on the issue. As a result of this experience, Lennon has decided to deactivate the X account entirely, highlighting a broader trend of companies, including Balenciaga and The Guardian, distancing themselves from the platform since Elon Musk's takeover in 2022. Many companies have left their accounts dormant, while others, like Balenciaga, have completely removed their accounts, suggesting ongoing challenges in managing social media presence effectively.
TruthLens AI Analysis
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