The MP for Kootenay-Columbia has caught someone impersonating him in an online scam. Wayne Stetski is warning constituents about a phishing scam involving someone impersonating him on Facebook’s Messenger app.
The scam involved the impostor sending a direct message to one of Stetski’s Facebook followers from an account using Stetski’s profile picture and the name “Wayne.”
The impostor impersonated Stetski before trying to interest the constituent in a scheme related to the “department of health and human services.”
“Fortunately, in this case, the targeted constituent quickly deduced that this was a phishing scam, blocked the scammer and then reported them both to us and to Facebook,” said Stetski, the NDP MP for Kootenay-Columbia.
“But we want to remind constituents and our Facebook followers to be vigilant. Our office does not initiate conversations with constituents or any Facebook users via Facebook Messenger.”
To report an imposter account, go to messanger.com, log in, click on the conversation on the left with the imposter account. The imposter account should now be listed in the address bar. It will look like this: www.messenger.com/t/[ACCOUNT].
Copy the URL and send it to authorities here.
“Other Members of Parliament have recently had similar experiences,” Stetski said. “Ito remind people to be extra vigilant on social media in the run up to this fall’s federal election, on October 21, 2019.
“These types of scams are becoming all too common, and typically end up victimizing those who are less critical of what they see and hear on social media and the Internet.
“There may be others out there who are interested in interfering with our democracy. Be critical about information you encounter on social media and if you doubt its origin, take steps to verify its authenticity. Don’t believe everything you see, hear or read.”
