Newsbf victim of scam

January 9, 2014

By Mike Weland
Publisher

News Bonners Ferry fell victim of a scam yesterday, and extends sincere apologies to Luke Inman for a false report saying he was being sought by law enforcement; he is not.

Apparently, based on feedback, this isn't the only site to have fallen prey.

It began with a Facebook message to newsbf's page purporting to be from a Sandpoint police officer, with a picture and a brief message. The author responded to a request for further information, and a check of court records seemed to verify the information.

His supposed last name was even one I recognized and respected; the family name of a person I'd worked with for years.

Responses began rolling in not long after the false tale went online and was posted to Facebook, unfortunately, more than 1,500 people saw the posting and shared the story before it could be removed.

Some of the comments were from others who'd fallen victim or came close, others were from people who apparently know Luke, who is the true victim of the hoaxes.

This morning, both Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall and Bonners Ferry Police Corporal Heiko Arshat confirmed that there has been no recent attempt by law enforcement to locate Inman.

"We wouldn't use Facebook for something like that," Arshat said, "Nor any other law enforcement agency I know of."

"It's someone who's jealous of Jake," one respondent opined. "He's creating Facebook pages under fake names and identities to come across as legitimate."

There was a tip-off in the message that should have been glaring seen in hindsight; the professed "officer" gave the proper number to call, but referred to it as belonging to "the Bonners Ferry sheriffs office."

As a journalist, I got suckered, and my lack of due diligence has undoubtedly brought discomfort, if not outright harm, to to a man and a family I profess to serve. Though I've taken steps, I can't undo that damage.

It's a lesson I assumed I was too aware to fall for.

If anyone has information as to who might be doing this or why, please email me at publisher@newsbf.com. Cyber crime is not an easy problem to solve as it's so new, but we won't put and end to it or accommodate the promise and potential of a new technology to do good until we all put a foot down.