Juanita Bynum, Kurt Carr Speak Out About Fradulent Charity Solicitation on Social Media
Dr. Juanita Bynum and Kurt Carr have more in common than releasing Gospel music to the masses as both singers are speaking out after being the victims of cyber hoaxes that falsely solicited money in their names.
Bynum, the 55-year-old preacher and Gospel singer, took to her Facebook and Twitter accounts recently to speak out about being the victim of various cyber hoaxes throughout the past year. The minister said she was hurt to learn that some people were tricked into sending money to fake orphanages, because they believed they were supporting her.
"Local media family, over the last 12 months my legal team and I have removed over 52 false profiles from Facebook, Twitter and IG that have been used to scam people and ask them for money in my name," Bynum wrote on her social media accounts. "I hurt with you in this and I am saddened that some of you have sent money to fake orphanages in Africa or other parts of the world through social media channels."
She asked her social media "family" to help stop fake accounts in her name and made it clear that she would never use it as a medium to solicit money.
"I/Juanita Bynum Ministries have and will never solicit funds in direct messages via social media. I am asking that everyone who encounters this to report it to Facebook and my office immediately," she wrote. "Together we will stop this criminal activity perpetrated in my name. I will not cease to repost this until those fake pages cease to take advantage of those of you who have been led to support my ministry!!"
Bynum is not the only person suffering with this problem. Carr, the 50-year-old Gospel singer took to his own social media pages to speak about a cyber hoax using fake social media pages, email addresses and a Google voice number to contact other musicians, preachers and his fans in the attempt to solicit funds.
"It is unbelievable to think that someone would attempt to use my identity to contact people in an effort to scam them," Carr said in an AlwaysAList.com report earlier this month. "I am working with authorities to ensure that the scam artist is uncovered and faces the necessary consequences."