Better Business Bureau warns about scammers tricking victims by using Facebook

June 13, 2022 at 3:52 pm CDT

TULSA, Okla. — Wouldn’t it be great to suddenly find out you’ve got hundreds or even thousands of dollars coming your way?

FOX23 Morning Anchor Michelle Linn talked to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) about the way scammers are using Facebook messenger to trick victims.

Amie Mitchell from Tulsa’s BBB said the scammer impersonates one of the victim’s friends and sends them a Facebook message.

“They say, ‘I found a website you are owed workers comp! Just call this phone number and get it set up.’ It’s a complete scam,” Mitchell said.

She also explained the scammers expect victims to fall for it because the messages come from someone you know and trust.

“[The scammers] have the same profile picture. They have the same name. They’re your friend, they’re telling you this, it must be true. It has to be true,” she said.

But when victims ask about claiming the money, things get suspicious. Victims are asked to pay a delivery fee up front. In many cases, scammers will ask victims to wire fees or send money in prepaid debit cards.

The BBB said if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. They also said people should never pay money to get money.

If a legitimate business or government organization owes you money, you won’t have to pay any money to receive it.

Each week, FOX23 works with the BBB to stay ahead of scams. You can report any scams to the BBB scam tracker.