SCAM ALERT: Someone’s using Archdiocese of Cebu official’s name to solicit money 

CEBU CITY, Philippines–The spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu, Monsignor Joseph Tan, is warning the public of a netizen who is using his name on Facebook to solicit money.

Tan told CDN Digital that he discovered the fake account after some of his friends contacted him about this.

He said that the fake account user had already solicited P15,000 that was transferred through online money transfer.

“Mao na nga na-alarma ko kay abi nako nga troll lang nga account, gigamit diay to solicit funds. So duna nay nabiktima dayon since yesterday,” Tan said.

(That’s why I was alarmed because I thought it was a troll account, but it was actually used to solicit funds. So there were those who fell for this scam since yesterday.)

Tan revealed that the victims told him that the funds solicited was allegedly intended for the ordination of a certain John Blake.

He added that after the victims sent the money to the suspect, the fake account user would delete their conversation and block the victims on Facebook messenger.

“Gi-report na namo sa Facebook kagahapon. Wala pa lang ko kahibaw unsay progress kay dili man ko ka-access ana nga account. Iya man kong gi block,” he said, adding that he also reported these incidents in the management of a telco handling the money transfer services.

Tan wants to remind the public that if he would solicit for some amount of money for a certain cause, he would not course it through text messages or FB chat messages.

“Kung mangayo man gani ko, moduol man gyud ko, mo-voice call gyud ko. Dili ko mag-text-text lang kay impolite kaayo na,” he added.

(If I would ever ask, I would do it personally or call. I won’t just text because it is an impolite thing to do.) 

Tan hopes that no other individuals would be victimized by this scammer.

/bmjo