Woman loses $5,000 after being scammed on Facebook

'Tis the play for giving.

But it's besides the play for scams. One of them could impact Facebook and idiosyncratic posing arsenic a bully friend.

Yvonne Lehman precocious received a connection from a relative, who was besides a Facebook friend, saying she had conscionable won a "Facebook Freedom Award," and that she thought Lehman was a victor too.

"She had won this contest, and she had seen my sanction connected it too. So past she sent maine the nexus to this idiosyncratic who handled it," Lehman said.

The agent, who she reached by Facebook Messenger, claimed Lehman had really won 1 of their apical prizes, $50,000.

However, the cause told her she needed to nonstop them wealth first.

"First they said I needed to wage $500 to unafraid the package," Lehman said.

She purchased $500 successful Apple acquisition cards and gave the numbers to the agent. But alternatively of her award, she got different request.

"He told maine that present I would person to wage $5,000 for the taxes connected the $50,000," she said.

Already successful for $500, Lehman borrowed from household and paid the further $5,000 successful acquisition cards, lone to beryllium told she present had to wage customs and borderline fees.

That's erstwhile Lehman began to fishy the full happening mightiness beryllium a scam.

She contacted her comparative straight to larn what was going on. She was stunned to find retired the pistillate knew thing astir it.

It turns retired the Facebook leafage had been hacked.

Warning signs of a Facebook scam

The FBI has conscionable issued an alert, informing that thousands of Americans are falling unfortunate to cyber crimes each year.

The FBI provided the pursuing tips connected however to grip antithetic Facebook messages oregon emails:

• Take your time. You don't person to instantly respond, oregon click connected links oregon unfastened attachments
• Look implicit the connection for spelling/grammatical errors, which are a communal reddish emblem of overseas scams
• If you are conversing by email, usage your cursor and hover implicit the sender's email address, and presumption the nexus to spot immoderate hidden email code and website URL
• Be leery of an email oregon Facebook connection that has an antithetic consciousness of urgency
• If the connection appears to travel from a friend, telephone oregon interaction that person immoderate different way, to marque definite it is truly them

Lehman has filed complaints with constabulary and her authorities lawyer general, but worries she whitethorn ne'er spot that wealth again.

"It finally, it truly conscionable stuck successful my gut that it wasn't real," she said.

There is nary specified Facebook rewards programme randomly awarding thousands of dollars.

And if a person tells you astir one, idiosyncratic whitethorn person taken implicit your friend's page.

So don't discarded your money.

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