UCP leadership candidate Leela Aheer says social media accounts were hacked

UCP leadership candidate Leela Aheer, seen here during a debate in Medicine Hat, Alta. on July 27, 2022, says some of her social media accounts were hacked. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

The RCMP have confirmed they are investigating after Leela Aheer, a candidate in the UCP leadership race, reported that some of her social media accounts had been compromised.

Aheer, who was elected in the riding of Chestermere-Strathmore in 2019, said Tuesday that she was shocked to discover that both her personal and public Facebook accounts had been hacked.

In a Twitter post, she called it "a targeted attack" and said there were inappropriate messages being sent through it as a result.

"I woke up to messages stating that my account is being used for sexual exploitation. This is disgusting," she wrote.

"We will find the perpetrators."

Aheer said the messages were also an attack on her family, friends and personal integrity.

"This is an attack leveraged to hurt our campaign, but we won't back down," she said.

The RCMP have confirmed to CTV News that they have received a complaint about the incident and an investigation "is in the early stages."

Aheer is expected to address the media about the incident on Wednesday.