Alleged scam: User claimed to be Watford man who lost wife to coronavirus

A Twitter account was set up in August this year under the name of ‘Michael Saunders’, who claimed he became a single father in Watford after his wife died from Covid-19.

The account quickly gained sympathy and support from many concerned users from Watford.

Eventually after receiving emotional encouragement the account launched a PayPal link for anyone to donate money to, as it mentioned financial struggles he was supposedly going through.

One of the tweets sent from the account

But some began to question the legitimacy of the account and the story provided.

One user, who says they donated, says they were blocked after voicing their doubts.

Watford Borough Council confirmed that nobody under the name Michael Saunders is on the electoral roll in the area he claims to be from.

Other users were sympathetic to the story 

Twitter has confirmed the account was suspended this week on September 8 for violating Twitter rules.

According to the rules, it is against the Financial Scams policy to use Twitter’s service to deceive others into sending money or personal financial information via scam tactics, phishing or other fraudulent or deceptive methods.

Twitter also has a strong stance against misleading others by operating fake accounts.

Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, confirms that the issue had been reported.

The case is being assessed by the City of London Police’s Fraud Intelligence Bureau.

A spokesperson for Action Fraud explained that investigations can take up to 28 days, but it can sometimes take up to six weeks.

While Hertfordshire Constabulary says this has not been reported to them, a spokesperson said: “Of course, we would advise anyone who believes they have been a victim of fraud to report it directly to Action Fraud in the first instance. The Twitter account appears to have been suspended now.”