*Well, they tried; but my magic bubble of skepticism averted it.
In Facebook I’d noticed a suggested friend whom I recognized. She was a member of my wife’s church. Her picture was familiar, altho she generally goes by a nickname now. So I sent her a friend request.
A few days later she sent me a FB Messenger text. How nice to hear from you! Oh, and have you heard about the Global Green-grants Fund? They are giving out money to people of all sorts — unemployed, disabled, elderly — to improve their quality of life.
“Giving out money,” eh? I googled it and easily found out that this Facebook scam has nothing to do with the real Global Green Grants Fund. “It’s a scam,” I texted her. “Stay away from it.”
“You should really be more trusting,” she replied. “They’ve sent me money by UPS right to my doorstep.”
You are never going to get something for nothing in this life. OTOH it isn’t very hard to get nothing for something.
With that thought in mind, I stopped it here. So I don’t know precisely how it would have gone. But one of the following would typically happen next:
- They ask you for your credit card number, social security number, etc. to “verify your eligibility.” Crooks use this crucial personal data to open an account in your name, or sell it on the black market.
- They send you a check and an instruction to deposit some smaller amount in someone else’s account. In this case I’m guessing the supposed reason is to “pay it forward.” Soon your bank revokes the deposit in your account due to insufficient funds. Then, good luck getting your real money back from the scammer.
“Have you given them your credit card number? Your social security number?” I texted. Maybe it wasn’t too late to help her avoid getting gouged. I told Pat her friend had been scammed. She sent her a text and got the reply “Not again! That wasn’t me. I’ll change my Facebook password again.”
I checked FB messenger. She hadn’t replied. Probably saw that I was onto her, and moved on to the next sucker.
I blocked the scammer, reported her profile to Facebook for impersonating someone else, and changed my password. I don’t think the scammer hijacked the Facebook account of Pat’s friend. I think she was using a counterfeit account based on information stolen from our friend — including her profile picture.
One way to protect yourself and your friends from scammers is to never post pictures of faces–not even in your profile.
Web Scammer Jammer 