Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Michael Pintard warned Bahamians of a hurricane relief scam and said he has turned information over to police involving the bogus Instagram account representing his likeness.

He said the fraudulent account is soliciting money in the name of Hurricane Dorian.

“It has come to our attention that a fraudulent social media account has been created on Instagram, purporting to represent myself, Michael Pintard and the Marco City constituency,” Pintard said. 

“This fraudulent account has begun to wreak havoc for some private residences who have been contacted asking for some personal details, including financial details. We wish to identify those accounts for the public.”

Pintard continued, “We have already reported to the police our concerns. We did so at least two weeks ago.  And we have reported once again, now that we know that residents have in fact been contacted by these fraudulent accounts.”

He said persons behind the false account are purported to be an international agency asking for personal information saying that they are a part of the United Nations, established to provide financial help to countries. 

Pintard added that the false account said it will provide financial assistance for housing, bills and business initiatives.   

Pintard is asking the public to immediately unfollow these Instagram accounts, michaelpintard@215 and michael.pintard, which are recognized as fraudulent.

He said the public should be aware and take note of the official Instagram account used by his ministry which is the official Marco City account.