Over 30 Queensland residents have now lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in a very concerning lottery scam targeting Facebook users.
Victims have been unexpectedly contacted on their Facebook account by a person claiming to be an employee of Facebook advising they have won the $7.5million prize in the ‘Facebook Lottery’.
Victims are requested to pay legal, late or administrative fees to “unlock” or release the money. This could be hundreds or thousands of dollars and could be asked for in instalments.
The latest version of the scam involves the victim being sent a very realistic looking Facebook branded credit card. They are told the card will be made active once the victim pays a further $7500 (previous fees have already been paid). Once this is done, they will apparently be sent their winnings.
“This is just a rehash of a number of long running phishing based lottery scam, just reinvented with a social media angle,” Detective Acting Superintendent Melissa Anderson of the Financial and Cyber Crime Group said.
“There is no Facebook lottery and certainly no Facebook credit card. Victims lose the $7500 and every other instalment or fee they have paid. This is just another example of criminals targeting vulnerable members of the community,”
The latest victim from Mackay lost over $100,000 in the scam and police are very concerned there could be more victims.
“We continue to plead with the community to realise that if someone contacts you out of the blue to present you with winnings, a once in a lifetime opportunity or a chance to gain hundreds, thousands or millions of dollars, you MUST ignore it or seek independent advice to verify the claims,” Detective Acting Superintendent Anderson said.
“Make sure you are in control of your personal details and be wary of anyone seeking your information online or over the phone. You can’t win lotteries unless you buy a ticket. We urge the community to maintain control of their details and be mindful of what information you are giving out online. Is this too good to be true? I can say with almost 100% confidence that it will be.”
R U in Control of your finances, your identity and your personal details? Are you putting yourself and your family at risk? Stay in control and to find out more information, visit the R U in Control page.
To get quick tips about how to your Facebook account secure and how to recognise and avoid scams and phishing, please visit https://www.facebook.com/about/basics/stay-safe-and-secure
Helen Walker
Helen is the Toowoomba-based journalist who loves nothing better than covering anything horse sport related, however she covers all commodities and personality yarns. Over the years she has lived in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Longreach and Roma filing stories for the 'bible of the bush'. Contact 0459 827414.
Helen is the Toowoomba-based journalist who loves nothing better than covering anything horse sport related, however she covers all commodities and personality yarns. Over the years she has lived in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Longreach and Roma filing stories for the 'bible of the bush'. Contact 0459 827414.
