(WXYZ) — There's a new scam going around targeting Facebook users, and it's one that's prompting an alert from the Better Business Bureau.
If you come across a gut-wrenching post that grabs your attention, do not share it — unless you've confirmed that it's true.
If you share any of these posts in your buy-and-sell groups, you may be exposing your trusted friend community to scammers.
One victim in Detroit contacted the BBB after being scammed out of $550, citing someone "claimed my friend was in an emergency and needed payment for cancer treatment. I contacted another friend and found out it wasn't true at all."
The BBB of Eastern Michigan is warning Facebook users to watch out for these scam posts.
“It more than likely has been a hijack of your friend's page where they may have posted something asking for something minor," Melannie Duquesnel, the president and CEO of the BBB of Eastern Michigan, said.
The posts may be about a missing child, a lost or injured pet, or a family in need.
“What they're hoping for you to do is to share that post. When you do that, the scammer now takes that post that you have shared and changes it up a little bit," Duquesnel explained.
It's a bait-and-switch, and the posts are often shared in local buy-and-sell groups because of the trust and sense of community that's already been cultivated there.
The scammers will tweak the shared post to then ask for a deposit for a fake rental property, a donation to a fake charity, or any way to get personal information.
To avoid the scam, follow these tips.
- Look at the profile of the person who created and shared the original post. If the profile is from a state down south but shared in a Canadian group, for example, it may be fake.
- Find out when the poster created their Facebook profiles. Remember, scammers have to create new profiles when their old one gets banned.
- Search for news of any reported tragedy before you share. If a child goes missing or a family loses their home in a fire, it will most likely have made your local news.
- Do a reverse image search on Google to find out if the pictures you see in the post have been used elsewhere.
- Paste the text from the post into Facebook's search tool to see if other posts with the same text and different pictures show up.
It's smart to use two-factor authentication when you log into Facebook. If you suspect a post is a scam, report it.
If you lost money, report it to your local police and the BBB scam tracker.
Bottom line, an emotionally-charged or urgent plea shared from one of your friends may be a scammer's way of getting money or personal information you or your social media followers.
