April 10, 2016
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(HURON COUNTY, ON) – The Huron County OPP is informing all residents about a recent scam that victimized an Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh resident for $1,500 after she was tricked into believing she had won a $145,000 prize in a “Powerball lottery” through her Facebook account.
Take note, scammers are increasingly using Facebook and other social media platforms as a means of communication to target potential victims. Huron County OPP is warning all residents to be on the look-out for unsolicited Facebook messages claiming you’ve won a prize.
Any solicitation advising consumers that they have won or have a chance to win something but are required to purchase something first or pay an advance fee, such as taxes or delivery charges to receive the prize, is a SCAM!
How the Scam Works:
Individuals receive a message on Facebook that may or may not appear to be from a distant relative or family friend. In this case, the victim was contacted by someone she thought was a childhood friend.
The scammers send out mass E-mail messages claiming they saw the consumer’s name on a list as a prize winner in a lottery or sweepstakes. The victim is then sent a link that will provide instructions on how to redeem the winnings. Now, the important part, an advance fee is always required to process the winnings. In this case, the victim was required to pay a $1,500 clearance fee.
The victim followed through and sent two separate wire transfers of $750 each. The victim sends the money and the prize never materializes. Quite often, the scammers will continue to make requests for fees such as in this case when the scammer asked for an additional $3,000 to cover the delivery fees. This was the point when the victim realized she had been duped.
Protect Yourself:
Never send money up front on the promise of a prize, lottery or sweepstake win.
Scammers are notorious for requesting money to be sent via a money service provider. Never send money to strangers through a wire transfer service.
Never accept a friend request, engage in a chat, or respond to a message from unknown persons on-line.
Limit your personal information on your social media profiles and pay attention to your privacy settings. Restrict accounts to a “Friends”-only privacy setting. If you leave your privacy setting at “Public” you may be exposed to potential scammers.
Should you receive a suspicious message from a family member or friend, confirm the message through an outside source not associated to Facebook, by a telephone call or personal visit wherever possible.
Report suspicious messages to site administrators.
Always remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud, contact your local police service or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
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