Newsbf victim of scam
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January 9, 2014 |
By Mike Weland
Publisher
News Bonners Ferry fell victim of a scam
yesterday, and extends sincere apologies to Luke
Inman for a false report saying he was being
sought by law enforcement; he is not.
Apparently, based on feedback, this isn't the
only site to have fallen prey.
It began with a Facebook message to newsbf's
page purporting to be from a Sandpoint police
officer, with a picture and a brief message. The
author responded to a request for further
information, and a check of court records seemed
to verify the information.
His supposed last name was even one I recognized
and respected; the family name of a person I'd
worked with for years.
Responses began rolling in not long after the
false tale went online and was posted to
Facebook, unfortunately, more than 1,500 people
saw the posting and shared the story before it
could be removed.
Some of the comments were from others who'd
fallen victim or came close, others were from
people who apparently know Luke, who is the true
victim of the hoaxes.
This morning, both Bonner County Prosecutor
Louis Marshall and Bonners Ferry Police Corporal
Heiko Arshat confirmed that there has been no
recent attempt by law enforcement to locate
Inman.
"We wouldn't use Facebook for something like
that," Arshat said, "Nor any other law
enforcement agency I know of."
"It's someone who's jealous of Jake," one
respondent opined. "He's creating Facebook pages
under fake names and identities to come across
as legitimate."
There was a tip-off in the message that should
have been glaring seen in hindsight; the
professed "officer" gave the proper number to
call, but referred to it as belonging to "the
Bonners Ferry sheriffs office."
As a journalist, I got suckered, and my lack of
due diligence has undoubtedly brought
discomfort, if not outright harm, to to a man
and a family I profess to serve. Though I've
taken steps, I can't undo that damage.
It's a lesson I assumed I was too aware to fall
for.
If anyone has information as to who might be
doing this or why, please email me at
publisher@newsbf.com. Cyber crime is not an
easy problem to solve as it's so new, but we
won't put and end to it or accommodate the
promise and potential of a new technology to do
good until we all put a foot down. |
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