Facebook scams

Someone said they earned megabucks from their side-hustle, and ''it helps with the bills''. I told her that she must have a very lavish lifestyle for that indecent amount of money to only 'help' with the bills, and of course she said I could be rich like her, soon enough. I declined, saying I didn't need help with bills [sarcastically] and she said I could invest the money. So I said, no, thank you. But there were people who asked her to contact them off-list...

My husband told me that he had ordered a dehumidifier. It was cheaper but he said the website looked professional. I always check Trustpilot reviews. His parcel arrived and it was a cheap pair of earrings and the website had disappeared. Luckily, he has had a refund from his bank as hopefully they have been able to get the money back. Always pays to use a well known company as there are few bargains and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

My best advice is to ignore any adverts saying they are retiring from their handmade business after many years.

Those I have seen sell stained glass window stickers, handbags, jumpers and scarves. They are all Chinese tat and their adverts usually contain these …..🔥🔥🔥.

Six months ago FB was awash with ads for bras for older ladies which looked really nice but were horrendously tatty with no support and the sizing was way off! They were so small you were lucky if they covered your nipples! 😝 always check one of their many trade names on Trust Pilot.

These days you have to remember ABC, A=assume nothing, B=believe no one, C= check everything. Sounds mean but it works.

So easy to be taken in. It's not unusual.
We are trying to sell a vehicle and various other small items. We have had someone claiming to want the vehicle and can we, not him, do a check online with a company using his link. It is the buyers responsibility and also, you should use the .gov DBLA site for vehicle checks. The link will seem legitimate and you only need to give bank card details to pay for the vehicle check. We blocked and reported once we realised it was a scam. A few minutes later we had another similar enquiry. Another is that someone asks you to keep an item for them as they are working and cannot collect in near future. They then say they will send the cash via a courier service; the courier will give you an envelope containing the cash and you give them the goods. Once you agree, they will tell you that you have to pay insurance which, of course, involves you giving bank details. Again, any expenses are the responsibility of the buyer. The other one is they will pay up front by PayPal and their nephew, daughter aunt will collect. Each one will start by asking if the items still available, not the shoes, vase or books etc.
It gets a bit wearing after a while. So.many scammers out there.
The good news is that the vehicle is being collected today by a legitimate buyer. The other smaller items are are still for sale.

facebook scam...... never send off for a free sample of something that you have to PAY postage for! Yes, I did this a few years ago, three lots of £85 went from my accounts in three months before I noticed. The money went to Singapore! I got it back fortunately..
I check my bank balance daily now also.

If a company is ostensibly offering something at a ridiculous price - call them / send them a message / go to their Facebook page to find out whether it is true. Speaking of e-mails... my friend had just left my house, when I received an e-mail from her telling me she was stuck in London and could I send her E200 which she would repay as soon as she got back...

I never add any people to my FB unless I know them well in real life.
I know 2 of my friends have been hacked after adding people with same religion, career or hobby. One of them was hacked 3 times and they got into his email and attempted to get into his bank.
I don't buy anything on FB unless it's cash on collection locally. One of my close relatives is a software engineer and keeps us all posted on these scammers and new scams.

Tanjamaltija

If a company is ostensibly offering something at a ridiculous price - call them / send them a message / go to their Facebook page to find out whether it is true. Speaking of e-mails... my friend had just left my house, when I received an e-mail from her telling me she was stuck in London and could I send her E200 which she would repay as soon as she got back...

I gather people are recommending a suitable "password" that a caller that says they are family/close friends would know and, if that password isn't included = you know it's not really them.

Guess one could use a previous pets name or a jokey name (eg my father used to call me "Gummy" I gather when I was a young child - ie my baby teeth coming out time). Or one could call someone with a taste for colourful eccentric clothing "Peacock" for instance.

I saw an advert on Instagram for bras for big busted women. They looked amazing and I decided I need 2 of them as quickly as possible. Filled the form out after reading the reviews and paid by debit card. Waited and waited, contacted and they even had the cheek to say there was a delay at the manufacturing hub. I waited another week and googled them again to find out it was a scam and they would flood FB and Insta with these ads but never fulfil orders.

When I see adverts on FB I check on ebay. They are always a lot cheaper

Thank you for the warning. I will be wary in future.

I got caught by a similar one for jewellry, Igot some cheap plastic earrings nothing like the photo and pins bent so unuseable, neeldess to say the website no longer exists
but there are still several similar ones on FB my complaint was not 'upheld'

Thanks for the warning!

You’re not the only one ever taken in, these scammers make my blood boil and I’ve become really suspicious of everything!

She777

I saw an advert on Instagram for bras for big busted women. They looked amazing and I decided I need 2 of them as quickly as possible. Filled the form out after reading the reviews and paid by debit card. Waited and waited, contacted and they even had the cheek to say there was a delay at the manufacturing hub. I waited another week and googled them again to find out it was a scam and they would flood FB and Insta with these ads but never fulfil orders.

These are the bras I mentioned earlier She777

She777 the reviews on their site or FB page are all fake. Just look at some of the names. 🤣🤣🤣

CariadAgain

Literally just had another email from a thief - they gave themselves an English name and wrote in perfect English.

They had an excuse for why their voice is (apparently) not working at the moment - hence writing. There was a giveaway though - British people don't use the phrase "Hope this finds you well" at the start of a conversation - but there was an Indian (I think??) guy that used to start all his YouTube broadcasts with that.....so I think it must be a common starter phrase in at least one other country. All my male friends/acquaintances currently are British - apart from one who is 50/50 German and English....

I do in every email to the people I support

lemsip

facebook scam...... never send off for a free sample of something that you have to PAY postage for! Yes, I did this a few years ago, three lots of £85 went from my accounts in three months before I noticed. The money went to Singapore! I got it back fortunately..
I check my bank balance daily now also.

Me too it was trialing makeup and would be sent the samples every 6 weeks but could cancel any time. They too took £ 85 twice, I only got one £ 85 back because the bank managed to stop that payment the first I did not get back as I had willingly given them my card details. ABC every time now

There’s a scam post (advert) on FB that is selling bracelets saying the money goes to a donkey/horse rescue. They have used pictures posted by the charity to promote the sale. However, the rescue did not give permission and hasn’t received a penny from the sales. It’s been reported many times but FB won’t take it down. Comments from people such as myself warning people are taken down and we’ve been blocked. It really makes me so angry. FB will give rescues 28 day bans for no good reason yet allow illegal content. 😡

Cossy

Thanks for the warning!

You’re not the only one ever taken in, these scammers make my blood boil and I’ve become really suspicious of everything!

You and me both - ie becoming really suspicious of everything.

I think us older women are also at risk of getting scammed by someone we get to know personally.

What happened to me recently was I'd told a friend (who is the sort of person who knows everyone in this little town I'm in) that I was looking for a particular service and she put me in touch with someone she knows somewhat for it. Cue for him saying he'd do that for appropriate payment - and then it became clear he'd also do unskilled DIY type jobs as well for payment if I wanted.

It started off as per plan - he did whatever and I paid him and I'd thought he'd become a friend. Then a few little red flags came up (eg I paid him to dig up a shrub from my garden and did think to check that a crystal I'd put in the soil - cost £30/£40 was still there. It wasn't. He brought it back - saying he thought it was a stone and had taken it to his home "by accident"). He said subsequently that I'd underpaid him when I gave him some notes to cover the cost of something else - and I believed him and gave him £20-£30 more - and now I suspect he lied and I had given him the correct money.

The crunch came when he knew I'd just swopped my computer for a new one and he asked me if he could "borrow the hard drive from your old one for a few hours - for whatever excuse it was he'd dreamed up". Luckily - I realised that was a lie and it's not advised to let anyone else have your computer hard drive and he would have known that (but obviously hoped I didnt). Luckily - I remembered that I'd input my card details on an email paying for a mini-break elsewhere in the country and he knew I had done that.

Cue for me instantly cancelling both my cards and getting new ones, refusing to loan him my old hard drive very firmly and instantly freezing him straight off as a Facebook friend/blocking his profile/telling the friend who introduced us what he's like (she was full of apologies for inadvertently introducing me to a thief by mistake....).

So - yep....one does even have to watch the odd person that you know personally/be prepared to cut them off if need be and I suspect this is more likely than not to be a case of a younger man trying to steal off an older woman.

Golden Rule never buy off Facebook.

I ordered some clothes on the M and S website. When I went to pay my computer fills in the card number and I put in the security code. This day the computer didn't fill in the card details so I got my card and put it in. Later the same day the bank contacted me and said to cancel my card as I had been scammed. Who can you trust ?

Thanks for that warning Faierynan as I use the M+S website too. This has not happened to me but I’m warned now if the website asks for my details again. I won’t put them in.

Faierynan

I ordered some clothes on the M and S website. When I went to pay my computer fills in the card number and I put in the security code. This day the computer didn't fill in the card details so I got my card and put it in. Later the same day the bank contacted me and said to cancel my card as I had been scammed. Who can you trust ?

It's not M&S, it's a fake website, I think.

Money Saving Expert alerted people to it earlier this year.

When in doubt use this site. Unlike TrustPilot where some traders pay this site just deals with scams.

www.getsafeonline.org/checkawebsite/