City councillor Lawrence Lee says someone is impersonating him on Facebook Messenger.
“They didn’t hack my account. They mirrored my Messenger. They just started using my contacts to pretend that they’re me,” said Lee.
The fake post, with a photo from Lee’s Facebook page, asks people for money. Do not respond or click any links, he advises.
“I’m told as soon as you text or phone that number, they can capture your data and start trying to scam you. It’s scary.”
He said since Friday, at least 50 people have contacted him to alert him to the fraudulent post. It seems pretty strategic to post it right before the long weekend, said the politician.
The post confused one of his relatives, who reached out to Lee.
“I never thought as hard as I did over the weekend about someone potentially using my public profile to get to my relatives or friends and take steps to defraud money. They’re so sophisticated, that this can be happening from anywhere in the world.”
Lee said he immediately reported the cybercrime to Facebook. He has since tried to follow up with Facebook, but as of Monday, there had been no response.
“Hopefully, they’re researching it.”
Lee said his daughters helped him copy the fraudulent post to show people exactly what to look for.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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