Facebook scams

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!

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'

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

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

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.

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 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.

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...

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

Don’t use Facebook/X/Instagram, etc. - anti-social media!!🤪
Scam e-mails are annoying, especially the ones with poor spelling/grammar - luckily most end up in junk mail.

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....

British people certain do open a letter with i hope this finds you well
But it’s a classic if written by a BOT. The email starts in that way to draw you in, make you feel that they care about your well being.

Jane43 - so sorry you were scammed but don't beat yourself up about it. I've had a few instances of things popping up on laptop telling me my info has been stolen etc some came with loud music and flashing warning signs really shocked me especially when I wasn't able to get rid of the page or shut down the device. The first time I saw it I was really upset and I wouldn't be at all surprised at me or another clicking on the link in a panic. So easily done and any of us could fall foul of these things. Hope you soon get your new card through and get back to normal.

CariadAgain

NB; Don't forget to ignore the scam that is coming up on local FB groups across the country re buying a tray full of eggs (think there is one or two other food bits and bobs too). I've seen that one on both local FB groups where I live now and back in my home city FB group.

A tray full of eggs? 🤔
If you want a tray full of eggs, you'd go to the farm shop, surely!
Whatever next.

Cariad be careful what you put on FB or say about your friend, he may have been hacked.

It keeps happening to a couple of friends of mine, I don't know why.

I’ve had my FB hacked then the hackers try and extort people using my messages.

CariadAgain your friend has been hacked I’d warn him and report to FB.

NB; Don't forget to ignore the scam that is coming up on local FB groups across the country re buying a tray full of eggs (think there is one or two other food bits and bobs too). I've seen that one on both local FB groups where I live now and back in my home city FB group.

Snatch-London ads for knitted cardigans keep appearing on Facebook and look tempting but thanks to the earning in here I’ll resist the temptation to order one.

M0nica

*Cariadagain Cue for I swopped my bank cards on the spot and "froze him out" instantly and am telling everyone in the small town I live in (and he still does....!!!!) that he's a thief.

A very foolish thing to do. You are laying yourself opeen to being sued for libel or slander, depending how you spread the information. Especially as you have done nothing to verify the information.

As Elegran points out. His computer could have been hacked , and frankly, I doubt, anyone trying to rob you would do it so transparently that they are immediately identifiable.

I would pull back from spreading this fake news, until you have incontrovertable proof - then go to the police.

Everyone I know has confirmed that an honest person wouldnt do a (face-to-face) request to borrow one's computer hard drive. That was actually the last straw with him - as I'd had suspicions before on a couple of occasions, but given him benefit of the doubt. With benefit of hindsight - when I paid him to do an odd job of bit of digging in my garden and then looked for the £30-£40 crystal I'd buried there (this is West Wales - it's a bit of a hippie area....) and he had "thought it was a stone and put it in my pocket" and he brought it back the following day (no it did not look like a stone...) and when he said I'd not given him enough cash (notes) to pay for another odd job - after counting it out - and yep...hindsight says he did do a sleight of hand and remove a couple of notes from what I'd given him. That's just two of the things where I gave him "benefit of the doubt" - and I shouldnt have in hindsight.

I (apparently) had an email from a man here I'm friendly with a few weeks back and I got in contact with his daughter and she confirmed his email account had been hacked - and so maybe Mr Indian-I-think email message was the same person that hacked his account a couple of weeks back. Thanks for bringing that "apparent" email to mind - as that makes it clearer who the email "poster" was - probably the same guy again that hacked my acquaintance.

Dickens - you're absolutely right it's being made harder and harder for us to do things the normal way - rather than online. Lockdown was an absolute boon to fraudsters - as people got more used to and/or were forced to do many things online that they don't normally do.

*Cariadagain Cue for I swopped my bank cards on the spot and "froze him out" instantly and am telling everyone in the small town I live in (and he still does....!!!!) that he's a thief.

A very foolish thing to do. You are laying yourself opeen to being sued for libel or slander, depending how you spread the information. Especially as you have done nothing to verify the information.

As Elegran points out. His computer could have been hacked , and frankly, I doubt, anyone trying to rob you would do it so transparently that they are immediately identifiable.

I would pull back from spreading this fake news, until you have incontrovertable proof - then go to the police.

I recently received an unkind facebook message from a lady I know because our DDs are close friends. I know her well enough to realise that she would never send anything like that. Our DDs spoke about it and it turns out she has been hacked. She sent me a very apologetic message although, of course, it’s not her fault. Not a scam I realise but upsetting all the same.

I suppose the artful pick-pockets and opportunistic thieves in towns and cities of yesteryear have now been replaced by like-minded cyber criminals? Of course, they don't now even need to be in the same country in order to pick your pocket.

We are encouraged, and in some cases forced, to do our commercial transactions online In fact, we're being encouraged to do just about everything online.

I haven't researched the matter but I understand that online fraud is costing businesses and other organisations an awful lot of money, and that's apart from the human cost to individuals who've been scammed.

It's all very well telling us to be aware but, as the fraudsters become ever more sophisticated, it's increasingly difficult to know what's legitimate and what isn't. I've reached the stage now where I regard virtually every single communication which has a link or asks for some kind of 'confirmation' or verification - as a scam and have therefore ended up ignoring genuine emails and messages. The number of messages from 'couriers' who've been unable to deliver my package for a variety of 'reasons' would probably translate to a hanger full of undelivered packages.

I think banks and businesses have really got to up their game, so to speak, before online fraud reaches the stage where it becomes equal to the number of legitimate transactions.

And online fraudsters if and when caught, should face very long prison sentences - otherwise, where is the deterrent? We appear to accept fraud now as a part of life. But, should we? Why should the onus be on us to become mini-detectives? We can only do so much as individuals; it's up to the experts and the business world to devise ways to keep our various online transactions safe.