Veteran Derry campaigner Eamonn McCann
Mr McCann, who is a former Foyle MLA and People Before Profit (PBP) councillor, said two of his friends fell victim to the elaborate hoax by an email scammer
He said that the scammer had managed to get his details and use them to trick the two victims.
“When I found out I was embarrassed, I also felt guilty for some reason even though I did nothing wrong,” he told BBC NI News.
Mr McCann said he has found the whole ordeal “a very uncomfortable experience” and warned others to be alert to scams.
The scammer, who was impersonating Mr McCann through his email, asked some of his contacts for “a small favour”.
The scam involved asking the person to put a sum of money on a gift card and then getting the unsuspecting person to take a picture of the back of the gift card with the pin revealed and send it to them.
“At least two of my friends were caught up in this,” Mr McCann said on Wednesday.
“One coughed up £300 and another coughed up £200 believing that they were helping me out.”
Mr McCann said he was shocked when he learned that the scammers managed to get access to his details and pull off such a convincing hoax.
“I’m surprised that I was caught in this. I would regard myself as a fairly sophisticated person who wouldn’t fall for what would be an obvious scam.
“I didn’t give anyone my banking details or any details for that matter, but whoever was behind this was able to get a close approximation of my email address.”
Previously the PSNI have warned of an increase in scams circulating online and have warned the public, particularly older people, to remain vigilant.
Advice relating to scams can be found on the ScamWiseNI and Action Fraud website.
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