Inflation is making it hard for many to make ends meet; suddenly, you get a message.
It appears to be from a friend on Facebook saying you're eligible for a big government grant. Free money! It can seem like the answer to a prayer.
But, losing money to phony government grant scams is one of the most frequent calls we get at the Problem Solvers.
We even get calls from people around the country that have lost money and are looking for anyone who can help them recover it. They see stories we’ve done warning our viewers about this scheme and hope there is a way to get back what they’ve lost, but the sad truth is most people who fall for “send money to get money” schemes never recover a dime.
Here's how these schemes work:
You get a text or message from a “friend” on Facebook telling you about this great offer of big bucks from the federal government through a loan you don’t have to pay back, a refund you hadn’t yet claimed, or an outright cash grant from a federal sounding agency.
An official-looking badge at the top of a text is how one victim got roped in. The message, allegedly from a friend, claimed if approved, the victim would get a grant from something called the "trusts community foundation fund," and she could use it on whatever she would like.
The text made her believe her friend benefitted, so she filled out the application — answering questions like next of kin, phone carrier, bank account balance, IRA balance, and how she wanted to receive payment. She was then instructed to send in a copy of her driver’s license.
She missed the biggest clue that this wasn’t real. The texter said she could choose how much grant money she’d like, up to $5 million, and to get all she had to do to get it deposited into her bank was pay a “shipping fee” using her credit card.
Cyber Security Expert Bill Sieglein warns, “Anything that requires you to send money before you receive money, yah, that’s a delete."
He adds it’s likely that friend wasn’t the one sending those messages. It’s called “account hijacking.”
“They’ve gotten the credentials and actually taken over your account, or they’ve created one that looks just like yours. it’s not hard to find a photo of you online, I can put that on an account, make it look just like yours, almost the same name, and then start friending all the same people, and I’d want you to connect with me.”
Now let's take a closer look at what to do if you or a loved one paid a scammer in one of these schemes:
- The Federal Trade Commission says if you paid with a credit card, tell your bank about the fraud and ask them to reverse the transaction to get your money back.
- If a scammer made an unauthorized transfer from your bank account, tell your bank about it as soon as possible, then ask for the transaction to be reversed. You may also need to close that account and open a new one. It’s a pain, but you don’t want scammers to have access to your accounts.
- If you sent funds through a money transfer app - report the fraud to the app and ask for the payment to be reversed. If the app is linked to your credit or debit card, also report the fraud to your bank, and again you may need to get new accounts to protect your funds.
- One last thing, always remember it’s easier to dispute charges to a credit card and get funds restored. It is often difficult or impossible to get funds back if they were stolen from your debit card or cash transfer apps.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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