Election scam or a case of mistaken identity? Internet and social network users were presented with confusion yesterday when a simple mouse click on a site called “congressofthepeople.org” gave them the opportunity to download a membership form for Jack Warner’s Independent Liberal Party (ILP). With just nine days to go until the Chaguanas West by-election, it seems mischief-makers online are attempting to get attention for Warner’s campaign through what appears to be nefarious methods.
The Web site doesn’t claim to belong to the Congress of the People (COP), but the name congressofthepeople.org implied the connection. Opening the Web site, users were greeted with a smiling Warner, encouraging them to subscribe and sign up for e-mail or text-message updates from his new party. It provided a link to download ILP membership forms, and subscribers received an e-mail asking them to confirm membership.
The e-mail also provided a link to Warner’s official Facebook page and said questions should be referred to media@jackwarnertt.com. Chairman of the COP Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan was unaware of the bogus Web site when this reporter called around 3 pm. An hour later, she was preparing a disclaimer to send out to the public.
“This is definitely not an official COP site. The official COP site is www.coptnt.com,” Seepersad-Bachan said in a telephone interview. She said the Web site was clearly a mischievous election scam being used to direct COP members to the membership of another party. Warner could not be reached for comment, as calls to his mobile phone went unanswered.