De Freitas warns social-media users to be cautious about ‘friend’ requests, since he is being impersonated on Facebook
Franz de Frietas, the United Progressive Party Candidate for St. John’s City South, is warning his Facebook followers to be careful about accepting any “friend” requests from an account purporting to be him.
De Frietas says that “someone is trying to create an alternate account” in his name. Accordingly, he advises, “Please do not accept the invitation” and “also please report it to Facebook soonest.”
A woman says she has already been contacted by the impostor, who inquired whether she had heard about a programme that is offering $40,000.
The woman says she thought it was a prank, and so she played along, and the person asked for permission to send her the link.
She says she told the person she would pass by the radio station where de Frietas works to get it, and the person responded that she should not wait.
The woman says she then told the impostor she was aware that he was not de Frietas and was not interested in any offer.
According to her, the situation is very serious since de Frietas’ photograph is being used to perpetrate the scam.
Several other persons have said they received a friend request from the person purporting to be de Freitas, but have since deleted it.
Over the last few years, scammers have impersonated several well-known individuals, including the Governor General, Harold Lovell, and Charles Max Fernandez, in order to obtain money from unsuspecting residents.
