Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called British Foreign Minister David Cameron. Cameron thought so. But the caller turned out to be a fraudster. The minister regrets the case – and issues a warning.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron received a fake video call from someone claiming to be former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. “A series of text messages” were exchanged, reported the British news agency PA, citing the Foreign Office. A short video call also took place.
While the video call clearly looked as if it was with Mr Poroshenko, the minister then became suspicious, PA quoted a statement from the ministry on Friday evening. Contact details were requested and, in view of his concerns, the foreign minister did not respond.
David Cameron believes disclosure is important
The department has now investigated the case and confirmed that the messages and the video call were false. They will make the case public if the video call is manipulated and exploited. They also wanted to point out the risk. The minister regrets his mistake and believes that it is important to draw attention to it and to do more to combat misinformation.
There have been reports of fake calls on several occasions. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, for example, was duped by a fake call from Russia last winter, which was made by the Russian duo Wowan and Lexus, who had also deceived former German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) after her term in office ended.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
