The Facebook lottery does not exist
Beware of the latest scam targeting Australians
Victims of the latest phishing scam 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.
These scammers are conmen and extremely good at manipulating people and can be quite convincing.
There is no Facebook lottery and certainly no Facebook credit card. Victims lose the $7500 and every other instalment or fee they have paid.
The latest victim from Mackay (Queensland) lost over $100,000 in the scam and police are very concerned there could be more victims.
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. If it’s too good to be true then it’s probably a scam.
Be in control of your personal details and be wary of anyone seeking your information online or over the phone.
To get quick tips about how to keep 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.
Comments