Local residents need to watch out for financial fraud scams via social media sites.
According to the Leon County Sheriff’s office and Tallahassee Police Department, the scammers “befriend” the potential victim via social media, like Facebook, and ask for their banking information.
“And, as they befriend them and have a discussion, they talk about, ‘do you want to make some money? A couple hundred dollars?’ And, then the victims—who end up becoming suspects as well to some degree—are providing the others their personal banking information, credit cards, PIN numbers, in order to make some easy money and a quick fix. And, then the people then make a deposit into that account,” said Leon County Sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Grady Jordan.
What’s then deposited into the victim’s account is a fake check. And, Jordan says banks don’t figure it out until later. But, by then, it’s too late because the victim’s money has been withdrawn. So, Jordan urges residents to be careful.
“And, a lot of times people don’t know who they’re dealing with when it comes to social media and Facebook because there are a lot of people out there that will develop fake Facebook profiles and fake Facebook pages,” he added. “So, to protect yourself, obviously know who you’re dealing with, but never give out your personal identification, your banking information, and defiantly don’t give them your credit card, your Debit card, or your PIN number.”
He also urges parents to educate their children as well as younger adults about these types of scams. Jordan says most victims of this particular scam are young adults around 18-years-old. As of Tuesday, they’re investigating at least 25 of these incidents.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.
