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Scammers have been impersonating MPs on the messaging app WhatsApp in an attempt to solicit funds in exchange for false promises of access to subsidized housing, one parliamentarian says.
Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull, who serves as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, posted about the scam on Friday.
"We have been made aware of two fraudulent WhatsApp groups falsely claiming to offer housing or benefits and impersonating members of Parliament," Turnbull wrote in a post on X.
Screenshots Turnbull provided to CBC News show a WhatsApp account using Turnbull's name and image offering access to housing as part of "Building Canada Home" — presumably an attempt to use the name Build Canada Homes, the government's new agency that oversees federal housing programs.
Screenshots Turnbull provided to CBC News show a WhatsApp account using his name and image offering access to housing as part of a fake program. (Submitted by Ryan Turnbull)"This is misleading, illegal and I strongly condemn it," Turnbull said in a statement to CBC News.
"Our government is focused on increasing housing supply and delivering real help for Canadians. The last thing people need are predatory actors attempting to exploit them through scams and impersonation."
The fraudulent WhatsApp profile shares links to a now defunct website that also used Turnbull's name.
The fake profile is also linked to WhatsApp groups that appear to be masking as federal programs, with titles such as "Canada Subsidized Housing Legal Handover Group" and "Canada's Housing Plan."
Turnbull told CBC News that he is also aware of an account impersonating fellow Liberal MP Caroline Desrochers, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of housing.
Turnbull said he has reported the fraudulent activity to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The MP also said he contacted Meta, which owns WhatsApp, and Turnbull said the company has agreed to remove the fake accounts.
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