CEBU CITY, Philippines —Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma has released another statement, reiterating that he does not solicit money through electronic mail (email).
This he said on Monday, October 21, 2019, after he received information that a friend of the prelate was able to ‘donate’ $3900 USD to a hacker who used Palma’s name to solicit funds.
The Archdiocese of Cebu said that the hacker was last traced to Nigeria through an Internet Protocol (IP) Address.
“I do not ask or solicit funds from different institutions or groups, nor does my staff without my prior knowledge, formal consent and definite authorization,” said Palma in a disclaimer notice.
Read more: Archdiocese of Cebu warns about fake solicitation letters using Archbishop Palma’s name
The prelate also reiterated that he does not have an e-mail with the account, “jspcebu@outlook.com.”
The public is advised to report these “fraudulent” emails to the archdiocese for tracing and for clarifications.
In an interview on October 18, 2019, the archbishop told reporters that he suspects that a hacker was able to access his information through the store where his new laptop was bought.
He did not reveal the store or the date of his purchase, but the prelate thinks the hacker may have been able to connect to a public internet.
“Nahitabo man ni bisan kinsa (This can happen to anyone), someone will take advantage. I am happy that people alerted me,” said Palma.
Palma assured the public that he is not in other places nor is he soliciting funds anywhere or from anyone. /bmjo