MANILA, August 4, 2013—Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Saturday chided abusers of modern technology who use social networking sites to fake their identities and pretend to be somebody else in their scheme to swindle and solicit money from people.
Tagle, who claims that his identity is being faked by perpetrators of this evil act, called on users of social networking sites to use this powerful medium in ways that can contribute to progress instead of fooling people to fulfill their self-serving acts.
“I just discovered that a lot of Facebook accounts bearing my name have been created by people I do not know. Some of those accounts are even being used to solicit money from people,” he said in the vernacular, referring to the famous social networking site Facebook.
“Whoever is behind this scheme, I am hoping that your conscience will haunt you and make you feel guilty,” the cardinal said. “To begin with, that is not even your own identity you use.”
He urged people to be more cautious in believing the things they see in the social media, noting that deeper scrutiny is needed to protect oneself from the evil schemes perpetuating the society.
“There are people who immediately give donations upon seeing that the request was made under my name. I urge you to confirm first the validity of those solicitations by calling the appropriate office,” he said.
“You should not believe everything that you see in the social media,” he added.
The prelate called on users of social networking sites to maximize the advantages of modern technology for the propagation of the good news, instead of using it for their unlawful acts.
“Let the social media be an experience of the truth and justice of God and not the dishonesty of the world,” he said. (Jennifer M. Orillaza)
