Middlesbrough mayor's identity used in Facebook scam

A mayor had his identity cloned in a Facebook fraud that scammed women in North Africa out of hundreds of pounds.

Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston said he was "appalled" by the deception and has contacted the social media company to have the fake accounts shut down.

One victim, a 40-year-old from Algeria, said she had lost €500 (£443) after communicating with an account purporting to be Mr Preston.

He has urged people to report any fake accounts directly to Facebook.

"Sadly, scamming is a really common global problem on social media and I suspect hundreds of people's profiles are being abused in this way," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

At least two Facebook pages and a WhatsApp account featuring Mr Preston's name and pictures of him have been used.

The victim claimed one fake account promised gifts including top of the range iPhones, designer shoes, designer handbags, jewellery and clothes for her children.

In the Facebook message sent from the suspect account, the scammer claimed they lived in Middlesbrough and were the chief executive of a charity - although they also claimed to be the mayor of Nottingham.

The mother of three initially believed the account was a fake, but after researching Mr Preston online she became convinced she was in contact with the real Teesside mayor.

She said the fraudster told her she was "a special person" and he was "interested in getting to know me and Islam".

"After several conversations, he told me he would send me a gift. At first, I didn't believe him because I didn't know him."

She was told she had to pay €500 to receive a package containing gifts, but got suspicious when she was asked to pay more.

Other women have fallen for the scam but chose not to speak out.

Mr Preston is contacting Facebook to get the fake accounts removed.

"I'm shocked and appalled to learn that scammers are abusing my name and image to rip off unsuspecting individuals," he said

"For the record, I have only two Facebook pages - Tees Issues by Andy Preston, which I use for my mayoral activity, and a personal Andy Preston profile.

"I'd advise anyone to be cautious about any other Facebook profiles using my image."

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