A Facebook post appearing to come from a Merseyside council that told people to “get a job” was faked, representatives said today. The account, which bore the same name and picture as the official council profile, was an impostor, Wirral Council said. In a statement, representatives urged Facebook users to remain vigilant for rogue users posing as officials.
The Liverpool Echo first reported the account’s comments below a woman’s query about street lights.
The impostor profile rudely responded by asking whether she could “contribute and maybe pay your council tax bill?”
The account added: “Then maybe we could afford to turn them back on!”
The commenter wrapped up the statement with the hashtag #getajob.
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“This was not our account. We have deleted these comments, blocked the account, and are looking into ways to stop this happening again.
“Please remain vigilant and we hope you are spending the extra hour today doing something more useful than this person.”
Many users commenting under the announcement mocked the council, with one joking the impostor was “probably talking more sense than the official account”.
Another joked that they should “send in Wirral Community Patrol”.
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They conceded that the comments were “funny though”.
Fake profiles are an issue on most social media platforms, with Facebook users often falling victim to scams.
People can report suspected fake profiles by clicking the line under their cover photo and selecting “Find support or report profile”.
Facebook then provides on-screen instructions to file a report, allowing moderators to deal with it officially.
