General Hospital's Maurice Benard Alerts Fans To A Bevy Of Twitter Accounts Posing As Him
Actor Maurice Benard, who plays Sonny Corinthos on "General Hospital," has been really good to his fans. Benard has opened up about having bipolar disorder and worked hard to promote mental health awareness, especially through his YouTube show, "State of Mind." Not only has the web series helped people cope with mental health concerns during the pandemic, but it also gives fans insights into the issues their favorite soap stars also deal with. So for someone who has done so much for his fans and the public in general, it's dreadful when greedy criminals impersonate that individual on social media, scamming citizens out of their hard-earned money.
As the Federal Trade Commission reports, almost $800 million was swindled from nearly 100,000 people through fraudulent social media accounts in 2021. The Commission also cites that Facebook and Instagram are the top platforms that trick people out of their money, whether bogus cryptocurrency investments or even simple online purchases. One safeguard most platforms have put into place is a verification process. After the platform has vetted an account, a blue checkmark is put next to the user's name, indicating they are indeed a legitimate individual, celebrity, or business (via Twitter).
Unfortunately, Benard has been a victim of many criminals pretending to be him online, bilking thousands of dollars from unwitting fans, and he continues to spread awareness of these dastardly real-life villains.
Maurice Benard is inundated with copycats
According to KKTV, scammers will create fake celebrity accounts asking for money for fraudulent investments, charities, contests, and more, often targeting an older demographic. In a Twitter post, a fan of "General Hospital" star Maurice Benard alerted the actor — as well as his co-stars Cynthia Watros and Laura Wright — about several fake accounts using their identities on Instagram with a screenshot of them. The actor's response to the fan was, "Idiots."
Continually getting fed up with dangerous online impersonators, Benard retweeted the post saying, "These are all fake. Please take notice these are all fake." Another fan also alerted Benard to a fake Twitter account.
Many responses to Benard's retweet correctly explained that if a Twitter handle does not have the blue check next to their username, the account is not the actual celebrity. As one fan indicated, "I once had 'Kelly Clarkson' follow me ... we know about the trolls on Twitter ... only trust the blue check mark."
Others felt that the Benard accounts were obviously bogus, and many stated that whenever they encounter one of those, they block them. One person said, "I know some have attempted to contact me, but I always block and delete every one [of] them. Thank [you], Maurice." Another added humor to the conversation, writing, "I had my wedding dress picked out and everything. #WishfulThinking."