Reports emerged yesterday that Coleen Rooney, wife of professional footballer Wayne Rooney, publicly accused Rebekah Vardy, wife of footballer Jamie Vardy, of leaking personal information about her to tabloid newspaper The Sun. Vardy was quick to refute the claims.
In a lengthy social media post on October 9, Rooney wrote: “For a few years now someone I trusted to follow me on my personal Instagram account has been consistently informing THE SUN newspaper of my private posts and stories.”
She went on to claim that “there has been so much information given to them about me, my friends and my family – all without my permission or knowledge.”
In an attempt to find out who was responsible, Rooney explained how she blocked all users from viewing her Instagram stories, except for one person, and spent five months posting a series of false stories to see if they ended up being leaked to The Sun, which they eventually did.
“Now I know for certain which account/individual it’s come from,” Rooney continued. “I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s………Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
In response, Vardy Tweeted to deny any knowing involvement in the issue, suggesting there could have been some sort of unaccounted for activity on her Instagram account which may have led to the leaks: “I never speak to anyone about this [personal stories and information] as various journalists have asked me to over the years can vouch for.
“Over the years various people have had access to my insta & just this week I found I was following people I didn’t know and have never followed myself.
“If you thought this was happening you could have told me & I could have changed my passwords to see if it stopped.”
Javvad Malik, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, said: “The incident between Rooney and Vardy is a reminder that no matter what is put on the internet, even if one believes they have applied privacy and security controls, there is a chance it will be leaked either intentionally or unintentionally. This could be through a technological issue, or through someone acting maliciously. People, and especially celebrities, should be careful of what they post online.”
Vardy, in her defense, stated that multiple people had access to her accounts, Malik added. “While this may be true, the fact is that when someone has an account, they assume responsibility for it and actions taken by it. In particular for celebrities or people associated with celebrities, such as friends, agents or PR agencies, sharing credentials can be a bad idea, and could lead to long term consequences.”