NET SCAM ON JAMES
SICK fraudsters set up a fake Twitter account in a bid to cash in on murdered tot James Bulger.
Scammers set up a profile in the name of James’s mum Denise Fergus and asked for donations.
Denise, who runs the James Bulger Memorial Trust, alerted police and internet watchdogs and also took to social media to warn people about the fraudsters.
She wrote: “They have nothing to do with me or my charity. They are asking for money via Western Union payment.”
The rogue page used her photo and the false name Denisfergus01 to try to make it look authentic.
But it did not have the blue tick to show the account is officially verified.
It asked, in broken English: “To all my peoples. I will kindly want you to donate to this kids in West Africa by showing care and love to them on my behalf as a great fan of mine.”
Denise’s husband Stuart said cyber crime group Action Fraud had acted swiftly in helping get the site shut down. It is not known how much was donated before the account was closed.
James was just two when he was murdered by 10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson in Bootle, Merseyside. He would have been 28 next Saturday and will be remembered at a charity ball. Denise, 50, added: “We’ll be honouring his name and memory. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of him.”