BAHAMAS – Facebook scam uses Labour Minister's identity

NASSAU –– Labour Minister Shane Gibson is raising the alarm about a Facebook scam that is conning Bahamians out of money while using his identity.

Fake Facebook profiles featuring his name and image have been made within the last several months, he said.

Labour Minister Shane Gibson

Those using the fake profiles have requested money from residents of his Golden Gates constituency.

The scammers have asked people to give money as a process fee in order to receive more money from a United Nations money grant, Gibson said.

At least four people have been successfully conned, he added, with at least one of those persons, a woman, giving $620 to the scammer.

“For some reason a couple of them [gave the] money and I don’t know why,” he told reporters Tuesday, noting that the money was transferred by way of MoneyGram.

“I want to sensitise the public to this. Be careful when you see accounts being abused where persons are soliciting money for any reason. If a person wants to give you money let them give it to you. I don’t understand why you would have to give them a couple dollars as fee for them to give you something they say you are entitled to.

“It’s happened five times,” he continued. Gibson said he has spoken with police officers about the matter.

“They said they spoke with Facebook on several occasions about similar matters,” he said.

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