By Edwin Fernandez/ PNA
COTABATO CITY – The city government is warning the public against the extortion activities by unscrupulous individuals preying on local residents in social media.
Aniceto Rasalan, secretary of Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, aired the warning after several city residents complained of having received extortion threats through text messages and social media accounts.
Rasalan said the unidentified extortionists would use the Facebook (FB) messenger application to demand money from individuals in exchange for their safety.
“One recipient of extortion was surprised to learn that the caller or the sender of messages know exactly some important details about him like birthdate, children’s school, the kind of vehicles he owned and even his mobile number,” Rasalan said.
Another recipient also told police that the unknown sender informed him about his body tattoo.
“We later realized that the information was all taken from the FB page of those who received extortion demands,” Rasalan said, adding that one FB message received by a trader contained the text: “Give or your kid will be kidnapped.”
Relaying the mayor’s message, Rasalan urged residents to use their social media accounts–especially FB–with extra caution by not divulging bank account numbers and other sensitive information.
“Better still, manage your FB accounts so only your friends can have access to you and refrain from posting private information,” Rasalan said.
