A Williams Lake senior is warning of a Facebook Messenger scam he received recently.
Bill Fletcher told the Tribune a message popped up from a good friend encouraging him to do what she did — claim a $100,000 prize.
“Her message told me to text the number 540-413-9002 to claim it,” Fletcher said. “When I told her it must be a scam, she answered back that it wasn’t and she had her prize delivered by UPS to her house.”
Suspicious it was a scam, Fletcher continued to talk to his friend through messenger, and whoever was responding told him to go to his bank, and transfer a $2,000 clearance and tax fee and to make sure he made the payment that very day.
Finally, Fletcher e-mailed his friend asking her to call him.
When she did, he learned she knew nothing about the prize or that she was messaging him.
“She went on her Facebook right away to let people know she had been hacked,” he added.
In January 2018, the Better Business Bureau reported it had received dozens of reports of con artists using Facebook Messenger.
On its website BBB noted other versions of this scam trick you into parting with personal information instead of money. These cons ask you to complete an application form that requires personal information, such as your address and Social Security number.
Be wary of your friends’ tastes online: Your friend or family member may have impeccable judgment in real-life. But e-mail messages, social posts, and Facebook Messenger chats could be from a hacked or impersonated account.
Report scam accounts and messages to Facebook: Alert Facebook to fake profiles, compromised accounts, and spam messages by reporting them.
Learn more about government scams (bbb.org/grantscam). For advice on keeping your Facebook account secure, check out this article in Facebook’s help Center.
news@wltribune.com
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