Rob Burrow warns supporters about 'scumbag' scammers who set up fake social media account
The former rugby league star, who has been fundraising for charity since he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December 2019, issued the warning on Sunday evening after he spotted a fake Twitter account that was asking supporters to send money via PayPal.
In a tweet, the 38-year-old father-of-three wrote: “They have been asking for people to send money to a email account.
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Hide Ad“Please don’t be the one who falls for the scumbags. Everything on here is true, don’t fall for it. Thanks everyone”.
His wife Lindsey Burrow told the Yorkshire Post: “It’s just shameful that somebody would try and capitalise on this and take money that is being raised for a good cause.
“We acted on it straight away and reported it and the person who tweeted deleted it.
“Fortunately, it’s the first time that we’ve come across anything like this. But it’s quite unbelievable that somebody would try to do that.
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Hide Ad“It was a bit of a shock and it just shows you’ve got to be so careful and vigilant with social media.”
Almost £3m has been raised in Mr Burow’s name for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, which supports people suffering with the incurable condition and funds research which could lead to new treatments.
His former teammate Kevin Sinfield also raised more than £2m for the charity, when he ran seven marathons in seven days in December 2020, and he has inspired more than 500 fundraisers to take on the same challenge.
Mr Burrow recently announced he is backing Leeds Hospitals Charity’s campaign to raise £5m for a state-of-the-art Motor Neurone Disease centre in for NHS patients in Leeds, which will be named after him.