As usual, I’m here with another look at a scam that seems to be making it’s rounds around Sunset Country and beyond. Beware the Facebook Friend scam!
Many thanks to one of our listeners Helen, for reaching out to us about this incident. “Yesterday, my other half received a message on messenger from one of his Facebook friends. Back and forth messaging caused concern. Making a long story short, the individual was not the Facebook friend! We knew this was a scam and felt it was very important to warn others!”
A message and/or friend request will pop-up on your account from what looks to be a friend – right down to their name, photo, and sometimes even including their hometown or birth date. The conversation often starts off innocent enough… after all, it’s just a friend looking to reconnect and make good conversation, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
With the pleasantries to the side, your friend may start telling you about ‘financial grants’ or ‘a website’ that promises you an absurd amount of money. It usually leads to them asking for a small fee in return to ‘release’ the funds to your bank account. THIS IS A SCAM. The scammers behind these fake accounts may also try to use distress as a means to get you to send them money.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
First things first, double-check the account that’s messaging you. If it’s a friend request or message request from someone you know you already have added, ignore it. Second, never send anyone money online without contacting them through other means first – and make sure you never click on websites you don’t know.
I almost got dinged with this same scam a year or so ago, where my ‘neighbor’ messaged me about ‘free grants’. Luckily, I caught on quick enough!
Stay safe, stay alert, and keep an eye out for those scammers!
