Making it as a fashion influencer nowadays isn’t easy. With millions of creators worldwide trying to break into the scene, the market is saturated.
Pair that with the glitz and glam audiences have grown to expect from these types of creators, and you realize you not only need good storytelling and consistency, but also a decent budget to start.
The ultimate goal for fashion influencers, of course, is for big brands and creator programs to sponsor their career.
If you’re new to the game and a brand such as Kim Kardashian’s Skims reaches out, that’s when you know you’ve made it. That’s what one creator on TikTok thought happened, but the reality was much more sinister.
TikToker Shares PSA About a New Skims Scam
In a recent trending video, which garnered over 207,500 views, Julia Santucci (@notjuliasantucci) shared the full storytime.
“On January 13th, 2026, I was almost sextorted by Skims,” she begins. “Or rather, by someone who is pretending… to be an influencer coordinator at Skims over email.”
For context, sextortion is a common form of coercion where the abuser attempts to extort money or sexual favors from the victim by threatening to reveal their sexual activity, nude photos or clips, and more.
Santucci clarifies that she wants to share the story so she can warn fellow aspiring content creators “who would do anything to work with a brand like Skims.”
Upon receiving the email, Santucci says she immediately did her due diligence.
“The first thing I checked when I received this very exciting email was the email domain itself, and it said ‘[email protected],’” she says. She also explains that she looked out for the “@gmail.com” server name, as she understands brands don’t usually use that for official communications.
“It passed the first test,” she says.
Then, she proceeded to check if there were any typos or grammatical errors in the body of the email. “Nope, passed all the tests,” she says. “It felt like an advertising girly to another advertising girly.”
She says she looked up the woman’s name on LinkedIn and saw she had Skims as part of her corporate history. “However, she was currently the CMO at J. Crew,” she explains. “And I think I excitedly overlooked this.”
The Skims ‘Collaboration’ Begins
Not paying attention to that first red flag, she continued communicating with the impersonator.
“What was required seemed very reasonable,” Santucci explains. “They were picking 50 influencers for this campaign, and in exchange for two videos, you would get two Skims swimwear sets and a small sum of money.”
To enter, Santucci explains, they asked for three digital images: a photo of her in a bikini from the front, the side, and the back. Additionally, they asked for a 30-second talking video of her in a bikini, explaining the fit.
“All these things made sense to me, especially for a brand like Skims,” she states.
The Situation Takes a Concerning Turn
After sending the materials, things immediately got fishy, prompting Santucci’s mom to call her upon seeing a screenshot of the email reply.
She attaches the screenshot to the video as well, and it reads, in part, “One small note regarding the swimwear used, the bottoms are great, but the top provides quite a bit more coverage than the triangle styles in our new line. To help us best assess the fit, could you reshoot the front angles with slightly less coverage?”
It continues, “If you do not have a more minimal top, that’s totally ok, you may adjust your current one or use pasties if you are comfortable doing so.”
“This was the final red flag that it took for me to realize, ‘Oh [expletive], I just sent pictures of myself and a video to someone that is not Skims. A complete creep on the internet,’” she explains.
Santucci says that although these photos of her can already be found on her Instagram, she feels violated and unsettled.
“This bothers me because where are these materials going?” she asks. “And god forbid a minor fell for this.”
She theorizes how this material might be used by the extorters. “You would have kept undressing to a point where they would use these photos that were so scandalous against you in return for you to pay them,” she says.
Santucci says she has reached out to the woman they’re impersonating, as well as the Skims legal team.
“If this has happened to anyone else, please feel free to message me or to comment on this video,” she concludes. “Experiencing this alone, it is so insanely violating.”
Is This a Well-Known Scam?
In the comments, a couple of users said the same thing happened to them recently.
“THIS HAPPENED TO ME!” one person exclaimed. “Skims x youngla collab. I made a post about this.”
Another commenter said they experienced a similar job scam. “Omg this is so scary this happened to me for a job at meta they were impersonating a hiring manager who had a very real LinkedIn page that worked there,” they wrote.
A user on r/scams posted their story about a year ago. They say an impersonator pretending to be someone from Boutine LA convinced them to model in lingerie and a bikini via Zoom. “I don’t know what to do if he happened to be recording my entire life would literally be over,” they wrote.
How To Protect Yourself Against Sextortion?
According to a guide by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it’s never a good idea to send compromising photos of yourself to anyone, no matter who they are.
They also advise against opening attachments from people you don’t know, since it exposes your electronic devices to a hack that gains access to your private information, including photos.
Additionally, they suggest turning off your electronic devices and web cameras when not in use.
If you’re a victim of sextortion, the FBI encourages you to file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
The Mary Sue has reached out to Santucci and Skims via email for official comment.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Ljeonida Mulabazi
Ljeonida is a reporter and writer with a degree in journalism and communications from the University of Tirana in her native Albania. She has a particular interest in all things digital marketing; she considers herself a copywriter, content producer, SEO specialist, and passionate marketer. Ljeonida is based in Tbilisi, Georgia, and her work can also be found at the Daily Dot.
