Fraudsters hacked into the Yahoo mail account of the Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev Dr Paulinus Ezeokafor, and used it to defraud church members and other friends of the cleric.
It was gathered that the email of the cleric was seized by unknown persons, who have been using it to solicit for funds, while masquerading as the bishop.
According to sources, many people have been asked to send money to designated accounts with the intent of defrauding them by using the bishop’s name.
Meanwhile, the Awka Catholic Diocese has issued a warning to its members and priests, as well as allies and supporters of the bishop, not to part with their money.
A press release by the diocesan chancellor, Very Rev Fr Charles Ndubuisi, raised the alarm over the matter, while urging all to discountenance the appeals for fund.
The release read: “Please be kindly informed that the Yahoo mail of His Excellency, Most Rev Dr Paulinus Ezeokafor was just hacked.
“Unfortunately the hackers are currently making so much financial demands. Please ignore any such request coming from anyone pretending to be from the Catholic Bishop of Awka. The bishop has never, and will never solicit funds in this manner.”
Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report, it was not clear if some people have fallen prey to the fraudsters.