The Philippine National Police on Wednesday warned the public against “poser” Facebook accounts illegally assuming the identity of its chief, Gen. Debold Sinas, for unscrupulous activities.
“We inform the public that the said FB account is fake. The use of the Chief PNP’s name, photos, and other items appearing to be attributed to his person was apparently a devious act by unscrupulous individuals using the social media to malign the PNP’s top leadership,” PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana said in a statement.
Usana was referring to a purported FB account of Sinas, where screenshots of an exchange of messages between him and a netizen were shown.
Based on the conversation, the netizen, who was a police officer’s widow, sought Sinas’ help for the release of the pension of her late husband.
The owner of the poser account who assumed Sinas’ identity assured the netizen that her concern would be given appropriate action in exchange for “grease money” to be given to his staff.
“We also advise FB account holders and the netizens to be prudent, discerning and judicious at everything they see in the social media. Some of the things seen in social media do not anymore reflect the truth and legitimacy of the information and tend to destroy the reputations of an innocent individual,” Usana said.
He said fake news peddlers and online scammers would face the full force of the law.
“At this point, the PNP is on computer forensics to locate the perpetrator/s behind this wrongful act in violation of the Anti-Cybercrime Act,” Usana said.