Mayor Abby Binay warns against scammer using her name to ask money

MANILA, Philippines – Makati Mayor Abby Binay warned the public on Wednesday against a scammer using her name and telephone number to solicit money.

According to the mayor, the scammer, who uses her picture and number, sends messages asking for money to be deposited in a bank account of a certain “Rex Andrew C. Alarcon.”

The message identifies the bank and account number and promises to reimburse the amount deposited.

The mayor said the scammer could have managed to get her number using an IMSI catcher, a device that downgrades a smart phone to 2G allowing the scammer to send messages using the target’s number or a masked number.

READ: Abby Binay thanks sis Nancy for remarking ‘I’m qualified for Senate’

Article continues after this advertisement

“The scammer has managed to get my number so it would appear as a legitimate message from me,” the mayor said.

“I urge the public to ignore these messages and report them immediately to the proper authorities,” she added.