COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Catholic Diocese of Columbus is warning parishioners about fake accounts impersonating Bishop Earl Fernandes on social media.
An article on "The Catholic Times" website described some of the alarming activity associated with the phony profiles including requesting funds from online followers.
“We were made aware of several social media accounts that were impersonating him, asking people directly for money, or to do personal favors, directly through messages,” Andrew Zuk, the associate director for the Office of Communications said in the notice.
According to Zuk, the accounts might seem legitimate with “general, positive Christian messages" being posted and similar direct messages sent to users. The connection often begins with a “friend request.”
“They will hook people in by sending a general, positive message, and then, after that, saying, ‘I need money now, personally; here’s this link to gift cards. Could you send me a wire transfer?’" said Zuk.
"Typically, it’s in the thousands-of-dollars range, and it’s a message of urgency, which is typical among fraudulent accounts. They’ll make a sense of urgency – a false sense of urgency – to whomever they’re trying to scam so that person acts quickly and doesn’t have enough time to think about it.”
The apparent victims of the scammers are said to be "older adults or retirees" who are sometimes perceived to have "less technology experience."
Red flags for imposter accounts include incorrect spelling and poor grammar.
“I want to emphasize that fraudulent accounts that are impersonating somebody like Bishop Fernandes will typically pressure somebody to take action, whether it’s giving personal information, asking for money or meeting in person,” he said.
“We’ve reported it," said Zuk. "We’ve asked anybody who sees these accounts to report them and to not click any links that they might have.”
Anyone who identifies a fake account should report it using Facebook's tools. Individuals are also requested to "contact the Diocese of Columbus in the event of receiving an odd request online from an individual who appears to be a diocesan employee."
Bishop Fernandes’ official accounts online are Facebook.com/Bishop.Earl.Fernandes and Instagram.com/BishopEarlKFernandes.
The “Columbus Catholic” official Diocese of Columbus social media accounts are Facebook.com/cbuscatholic and Instagram.com/columbuscatholics. Information about other profiles can be verified on these accounts.
