David Cameron falls victim to hoax video call
- Published
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has fallen victim to a hoax call with someone pretending to be former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the Foreign Office (FCDO) said.
A number of text messages were also exchanged between the impersonator and Lord Cameron, who regretted his mistake, according to an FCDO spokesperson.
"Whilst the video call clearly appeared to be with Mr Poroshenko, following the conversation the foreign secretary became suspicious," the spokesperson added.
The caller also requested contact details, after which Lord Cameron stopped responding.
The spokesperson said the "brief" call took place in "recent days" but did not elaborate on who was behind the hoax or how they were able to contact Lord Cameron directly.
The FCDO said it released details of the exchange publicly over fears it could be "manipulated".
"Manipulation of the information environment is becoming ever more present.
"Whilst regretting his mistake, the foreign secretary thinks it important to call out this behaviour and increase efforts to counter the use of misinformation."
Petro Poroshenko was president of Ukraine between 2014 and 2019.
During his term as prime minister, David Cameron had multiple dealings with the Ukrainian leader, including meetings at international summits.
David Cameron and Petro Poroshenko at a European Council Summit in Brussels in 2015
It's not the first time Lord Cameron has fallen victim to a hoax call.
In 2015, Downing Street was forced to review security procedures after a bogus caller was put through to him when he was prime minister.
No 10 said the caller claimed to be Robert Hannigan, who was director of government monitoring agency GCHQ at the time.
Lord Cameron ended the call when it became clear it was a hoax and no sensitive information was disclosed.