This former Patriots running back says he is being impersonated on Twitter
And he had a warning for the imposter.
James White thought he had earned praise from a former NFL stalwart Monday night.
“Making my old number with the Pats look good,” read a tweet from the apparent account of the retired Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots running back Corey Dillon.
“I appreciate that and I got you!” White responded to the former No. 28.
Just one problem: Dillon isn’t on Twitter, according to the real Corey Dillon.
In a video posted over the weekend by his former Bengals teammate Willie Anderson, the 44-year-old ex-running back said the @Corey28Dillon account — despite its blue, verified checkmark badge — was an imposter.
“That’s not me,” Dillon said in the video.
Had to get the Real Corey Dillon to tell the people that @Corey28Dillon is not him. Probably same dude that had the fake Rudi Johnson account last year. #Bengals #Patriots #BestBengalsplayerEver #Whodey pic.twitter.com/FSmpHjX27T
— Willie Anderson (@BigWillie7179) December 2, 2018
“This guy, I don’t know what he’s doing, because I’m not on social media,” he added (according to Anderson, Dillon wouldn’t even know how to to log on).
Dillon also gave his impersonator an ominous warning.
“Boy, I’ll come see you,” he said. “So when I figure it out, I’ma come see you. So I hope you shut it down, bro. For real.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the fake Dillon account was still up and tweeting. And White wasn’t the only one fooled.
The account also appears to have duped former Patriots linebacker Tedi Bruschi and tight end Martellus Bennett, among other former NFL players, as well as several NFL reporters and commentators.
It’s unclear how the fake Dillon account initially got its blue check mark of authenticity. Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday afternoon. However, later in the evening, the account had lost its blue check mark and changed its handle to @_28CD.
The imposter joined Twitter just last month — ironically, with a tweet denouncing fake accounts.
Just joined the world ? of social media. All other accounts are Fake!!
— Corey Dillon (@Corey28Dillon) November 26, 2018