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Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 10:58 am
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There seems to be a new or newer scam hitting social media. it tends to focus on the charitable side.
Granted many scams on social media aren’t new but they do change or even evolve over time.
How I found out about the scam
I happened upon an article from the Sun last week on my Google news feed. I thought I’d check it out. Since it stated that AT&T was warning users about the scam.
Well, it was a simple and straightforward article but it did post a few facts about the scam as well.
What the scam is about
This scam seems to prey on people’s charitable nature. Or maybe even try to pass the scammer off as a charity worker or trying to help a charity.
The scam is hitting social media mainly Facebook as listed in the article.
This scam is similar to other scams
It’s similar to romance scams where you are messaged by a stranger. The stranger then tries to befriend you.
During this friendship process, the scammer may ask for help. In this case, they are asking for cell phones. Granted again this is similar to romance scams.
Here’s the bad part
The scammer may ask for a phone or several phones. They state they are helping a charity and will pay you back.
Does anyone else see red flags yet?
According to AT&T, the scammer will ask the person they contacted to order the phone or phones via their account.
Again red flags anyone?
The scammer may pay you back the full sum of the order but it may sit in your account once the phones are ordered the money may disappear.
You can read the full AT&T article by visiting the link below.
https://about.att.com/pages/cyberaware/ar/social-media-charity-scam
How not to fall prey to this scam
One big way not to fall prey to this scam is not to reply back to random friend requests on Facebook. If you are sent one you should check out the person’s profile. If the person is outside of your own country always be wary of this. Even if they claim to be US-based view their friends list. Many hacked Facebook accounts may keep the original profile user’s photos but have friends from outside of the profile’s home country.
You can also not word at face value. If they claim they are working with a charity ask questions. Do your research to see if the charity is legit.
Never offer to pay for a cellphone(s) site unseen even if the person claims they will pay you back. You will be footing the bill.
If you encounter something that feels off report the profile to the platform and block them.
Let’s get this word out before other people are scammed and left paying the bill.
