Scammer impersonating the Queen in most 'unconvincing' con ever

Amid days of mourning and a state funeral watched by millions, it hasn't taken long for scammers to take advantage of the Queen's death.

And some even think they can con people out of their money by pretending she's still alive, reports Metro UK.

The Twitter account UberFacts shared a screengrab of the attempted scam, which has been circulating on Instagram.

An account pretending to be the Queen herself is behind the messages, with the handle @queenelizabet._3 - and follows just three accounts, including Instagram and the Royal Family.

The message claims the Queen isn't dead, she's simply been shipped off to a deserted island by King Charles so he could take the throne.

According to the message, "the Queen" "can't get hold of her royal money" - and needs people to send her money so she can return to the UK.

The best part? The message concludes with "Tea and biscuits" and a Union Jack flag emoji. Convincing.

As expected, the scam was thoroughly mocked online.

The person behind the profile uses a smiling photo of the monarch, with the bio: "dm if you can help me get back to Great Britain! Tea and Biscuits".

And while this scam is a distasteful one so soon after her death, there are plenty of other online scams related to the Queen's death that are a lot more convincing.

Following her death, several new cryptocurrencies tried to take the opportunity to inflate their value.

Scammers come up with new ways to target social media users all the time, but there are a few ways to help protect yourself and your information.

Treat contact from unfamiliar accounts with caution - particularly if it claims to be an official account. And even if it is familiar, legitimate users often get hacked, so it still pays to watch out.

Don't click on suspicious links or attachments - these are often the most dangerous parts of a scam message. So before your click, check the URL - and if you're still not sure, don't click on it at all.

Strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentification are also key to protecting your information online.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.