Members of the Dearborn City Council have been impersonated by scammers, who have created fake social media accounts in an attempt to phish for personal information from residents, which they then use to commit identity theft.
Information gleaned is used to commit identity theft
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Fake social media accounts are being used to impersonate city officials to gather personal information from residents to commit identity theft, a July 6 Police Department press release warned.
Residents are urged to never share personal or financial information online, no matter how realistic an account may appear to be.
The warning said the social media accounts of city officials, including city council members and the police chief, are being impersonated to phish for information to defraud residents through identity theft.
If it appears you are being contacted by a city official and asked for personal, financial or identity information, block the account and report it immediately to police officials.
Residents are urged to remember that government agencies and elected officials will never call, email, direct message or text residents to ask for money or solicit personal information.
Cloned social media accounts can look close to identical to actual accounts, the press release cautioned.
To avoid being taken advantage of, never send money electronically to a government official, and do not provide bank account, credit or debit card information.
In addition, never click on a link from an unfamiliar source, as it may contain dangerous computer viruses.
Possible fraudulent activity associated with social media accounts impersonating city officials should be reported to Sgt. Benjamin Harless, 313-943-2132, at the Dearborn Police Detective Bureau.