The Yukon Quest is handling a dog’s breakfast of false social media accounts as it lead up to race day.

According to Ben Smith, the new Whitehorse-based executive director of the fabled race, “We’ve seen an increase in copycat accounts for the Yukon Quest, and these accounts are NOT legitimate. The account pictured is one of those fake accounts.”

Smith said the fake accounts haven’t posed a huge problem for the organization yet, but he wanted to warn the public about them.

“We have seen several fake Facebook profiles come up lately that are mimicking our account,” he told the Star Friday.

“We put a post on our social media to alert people that there were copycat accounts out there and to be careful, and then gave some general Internet safety tips (check accounts before giving information, reach out to us directly if something seems suspicious, etc.).

“We weren’t scammed or anything; we were just alerting the public of fake Yukon Quest accounts,” Smith said.

So far, the accounts are trying to deceive people into providing personal information. And that isn’t the way the organization operates, Smith said.

He posted comments on the Quest’s Facebook account.

“The Yukon Quest official social media accounts are managed directly by the Yukon Quest staff,” he explained. “We are very careful in how we manage our accounts and how we interact when we use them.

“We will never ask for personal information over Messenger or social media, especially anything that could compromise someone’s identity.”

He provided some advice to anyone encountering the accounts.

“In general, watch for accounts that mimic official accounts. They will often have periods or underlines or something of that sort in the name to make it appear legitimate at a quick glance (like the example underlined).”

Check emails too, he advises.

“Phishing attacks work by mimicking an email address you may recognize or appear to be urgent in nature. Before opening attachments, check the sender’s email, especially if it seems unusual for the sender or something that requires files to be opened from someone you don’t know.

“If you ever receive a message or request from a Yukon Quest social media account and you question if it is legitimate, reach out directly to us,” Smith urges.

The Quest from Whitehorse to Braeburn to Pelly Crossing to Dawson City will begin Feb. 3.