While Howie The Crab Is Getting Ready To Molt, Someone Stole Her Identity!

TikTok famous Howie the crab is in the middle of a dilemma. Her mom wants all of the rainbow crab’s fans to know that someone has stolen Howie’s name and is profiting off of it, which ultimately steals from Howie.

And what timing! As Howie is gearing up for another molt after that last tough one back in December, Howie’s mom wanted to make everyone aware of the scam that’s going on. 

Howie’s mom has been sharing information about the t-shirt scam on her social media pages. A recent Instagram post explained just what’s going on.

“😭😭😭 I depend on t-shirt sales and someone stole Howie's name and is selling shirts. They even paid to have it sponsored so they pop up BEFORE my designs 😩 If you bought these, either please return them or leave them a bad review! #Howiethecrab#thieves#help#moltwatch2023,” the caption reads. 

She further explained in the comment section. “All of my stuff is more realistic pictures of Howie and in all the descriptions you'll see I wrote stuff like ‘designed by Howie's Mom’. Right now it's just the blue cartoon crab that's the problem. There's like 3 versions of it on a gazillion products.” 

Another comment gave an update about trademarking the name “Howie The Crab.” 

“Okay guys update to anyone just seeing this video now: I have trademarked Howie The Crab™ and I'm going after everyone who stole her name and my designs. I really don't want people swindling Howie's fans and possibly stealing credit card info while they're pretending to sell my merchandise," her caption reads. 

"This is wholeheartedly NOT about the money but trying to keep thieves from profiting off of Howie. It's the principle that people think they can do this and get away with it. I have updated my website to ensure there's no confusion about merchandise. I want no one to feel obligated to buy! We love and care about our fans no matter what! I don't plan on making a habit of plugging Howie merch, but it's there if anyone wants any. ❤️” 

Another Instagram post later that day shared another update that things were worse than Howie’s mom thought. 

“So it's way worse than I thought! Fans have shown me links to other sites online that have straight up stolen my whole designs! Please if you order shirts, make sure it says ‘designed by Howie's Mom’ on Amazon or directly from the link in my bio that brings you to TeeSpring. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this 😪.” 

A day later, another Instagram update with some good news this time.

“I'm changing Howie's name! Meet the new Howie The Crab™! When the process is complete she will be known as Howie The Crab® That way no one can rip off Howie's fans and get away with it. I will continue to pursue the people who ripped us and our fans off! This isn't about money, it's about justice.” 

A few days later, Howie’s mom updated that she was able to get most of the counterfeit products taken down but is still waiting for some smaller companies to respond. 

“Who knew I would have to federally trademark my pet crab! LOL Never in my wildest dreams! But with almost 1 million followers across social media, of course thieves saw an opportunity to take advantage of Howie's fans! It's not about the money guys, I hope you know that. I want to protect YOU,” the caption reads. 

“I don't plan on plugging merch. I feel incredibly awkward about it actually...but it's there if you want it and I'll be adding new designs when I can find time to sit and make them😆I updated my website to direct everyone to our legitimate merchandise. My website is www.howiethecrab.com.” 

While there were some negative comments left about Howie’s mom profiting off of her pet, tons of people came to her defense. 

“Yeah, and to the folks who were so rude about this on your other post, how sad for you to follow Howie, then say you are making money off an animal. Oh, you mean like the hundreds of animals on Instagram that have such a big following, it’s incredible. It helps these pet parents to keep them with enough food and supplies. And care should something go wrong. They share tons of videos and pics, which takes time. Putting hats on him for his photo shoot! I was so mad, I didn’t even comment the other day. I knew I’d say something that would get me thrown off Instagram. But some pretty horrible comments came in. People need to get over themselves,” one fan wrote. 

Another added, “Thank you for the update 🙏 I personally was glad to hear this, as it is not right to steal - we all know you're not about the money - but showing us how much love there actually is in the world as you & Howie provide it within the beautiful videos you two make - we love you for this 🙏❤️.” 

Another update that Howie’s mom shared on Instagram explained that “extortion is not a joke.” She said that telling content creators to “go live right now or I will tell everyone that this account is fake” is something she will not put up with.

“I am a human being, with a real name. I am Laura Porter and I will not tolerate that kind of behavior,” her caption reads. “I have worked very hard to be where I am. I do not have to prove the validity of that to anyone. Do not harass me in my own comments section. Do not take the side of people harassing me. Do not incite others to act against me or my accounts. I am dealing with enough things as it is.” 

Many of Howie’s fans left supportive comments. 

“The fact that people are starting drama over someone who just wants to joyfully post about their pet crab is stupid😂. Like, you’re literally just trying to share something that gives you joy 😭,” one fan wrote. 

Howie Mandel, who Howie the crab is named after, even left a comment on an Instagram post regarding the hate that’s been shared on some of the crab's recent posts  - “Nobody hates on howie 😢.”