Photo: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
For: The Opinion
Saturday, November 16
Facebook users warn of fake gift card scam after woman lost $ 5,000
Facebook warned its users about a new scam , through Christmas gift cards , after a woman lost $ 5, dollars by means of a false message from a relative.
Facebook user, Yvonne Lehman, said that received a message from a relative , whom he has as a friend on the social networking site, saying that had just won a “Prize to Facebook Freedom ”.
Lehman explained to Denver Channel how her alleged relative thought she was a winner too.
“She had won this contest and she had also seen my name. So he sent me the link to the person who handled it, ”Lehman said.
The agent, whom he contacted on Facebook Messenger, claimed that Lehman had actually won one of his top prizes, $ 50, 000 Dollars.
However, the agent told him that he had to send them money first.
“First , they said I had to pay $ 500 dollars to secure the package, ”Lehman said.
Lehman purchased an Apple gift card for $ 500 dollars and gave the numbers to the agent.
“Then he told me that now I would have to pay $ 5, 000 dollars for taxes on the $ 16, 000″, He said.
Lehman proceeded to request lent money to the family and paid the $ 5, 000 extra dollars in gift cards, only to be told that now you had to pay customs and border fees.
That’s when Lehman he began to suspect that it could all be a scam.
He contacted his relative directly to find out what was happening and, in the end , was surprised to find that the woman did not know anything about it.
His relative revealed that his Facebook page had been hacked.
Since then, Lehman has filed complaints with the police and with the state attorney general, but he fears he will never see his money again.
“It really stuck in my stomach that it wasn’t real,” he told the outlet.
Facebook users should know that There is no bounty program that awards thousands of dollars at random.
The FBI has issued an alert warning that thousands of Americans are victims of Cybercrimes every year.
Some helpful tips from the FBI to follow in case you encounter a similar situation:
Take your time. You do not need to reply immediately, click the links or open the attachments.
Check the message for spelling or grammar errors , which are a common red flag for foreign scams.
If you are chatting via email, use the cursor and hover over the address sender’s email address, and view the link to view any hidden email addresses and website URLs.
Be careful with an email or Facebook message that has a unusual sense of urgency.
If the message appears to be coming from a friend, please call or communicate with that friend in some other way to make sure that you really be him.
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