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'Facebook lottery' promising
$7.5m prize scams Australians
out of hundreds of thousands
By Patrick Williams
Posted Thu 3 May 2018 at 4:11am , updated Thu 3 May
2018 at 6:22am
Fake Facebook-branded credit cards are sent out to
victims. (Supplied: Queensland Police Service)
A "Facebook lottery" promising
prize money of $7.5 million has
scammed nearly 30 Queenslanders
out of hundreds of thousands of
dollars, police say.
Queensland Police Service said the latest
version of the scam involves the victim
being sent a very realistic looking Facebook-
branded credit card.
It begins when the victim is unexpectedly
contacted on their Facebook account by a
person claiming to be an employee of
Facebook advising they have won the $7.5
million 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.
They are then sent a Facebook-branded
credit card, and are told the card will be
made active once the victim pays a further
$7,500, on top of previous fees.
Police said there was no such thing as a "Facebook
lotto". (Supplied: Queensland Police Service)
Once this is done, they will apparently be
sent their winnings.
Detective Acting Superintendent Melissa
Anderson of the Financial and Cyber Crime
Group said there is no Facebook lottery and
certainly no Facebook credit card.
"This is just a rehash of a number of
long-running, phishing-based
lottery scam, just reinvented with a
social media angle," Detective
Acting Superintendent Anderson
said.
"Victims lose the $7,500 and every other
instalment or fee they have paid.
"This is just another example of criminals
targeting vulnerable members of the
community."
Detective Acting Superintendent Anderson
said the latest victim lost over $100,000 in
the scam and police are concerned there
could be more victims.
To protect yourself from scams,
watch out for the following:
People asking you for money who
you don't know in person
People asking you for advance fees
to receive a loan, prize or other
winnings
People asking you to move your
conversation off Facebook (such as a
separate email)
People claiming to be a friend or
relative in an emergency
Messages or posts with poor
spelling and grammatical mistakes
Pages representing large
companies, organizations or public
figures that are not verified
People or accounts directing you to
a Page to claim a prize
"We continue to plead with the
community to realise that 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," she said.
"Make sure you are in control of your
personal details and be wary of anyone
seeking your information online or over the
phone. You can't win lotteries unless you buy
a ticket. We urge the community to maintain
control of their details and be mindful of
what information you are giving out online.
"Is this too good to be true? I can say with
almost 100 per cent confidence that it will
be."
Would-be scammer played by
vigilant Australian
Sydney man Terry Nichols was told over the
weekend by a man via Instagram that he had
won $1.5 million in the "Facebook lottery".
Mr Nichols received this certificate via Instagram to
congratulate him on his "Facebook lottery win".
(Supplied: Terry Nichols)
But he knew straight away that it was too
good to be true.
"He sent me a message just asking how I was
and so forth. I wasn't actually sure if I knew
him or not," Mr Nichols said.
"I replied, and he just had a bit of a
conversation and then he's come
out and says he works for
Facebook's lottery department and
I'd won $US1.5 million.
"Then he asked how I'd like to receive the
money, via an ATM card or a cheque."
Mr Nichols said he decided to string his
would-be scammer along.
"I gave him a fake address and phone
number. Then as he got those he sent me
through a certificate with my name on it," he
said.
"Then he sent me photos [of people] who've
taken selfies with a sign saying they won the
Facebook lottery, and a few pictures of
people with ATM cards — all elderly people
— and you could tell they were all situated in
America.
Mr Nichols was told to transfer money for the delivery
of his "winnings". (Supplied: Terry Nichols)
Mr Nichols then received a variety of options
for the "delivery of his winnings", ranging
from "Premium Express" delivery for $US956,
down to "Economy Express" for $US595.
"He wanted the payment to a person named
Tony in New Mexico via Western Union or
MoneyGram," he said.
"I just played along. I told him I went to
Western Union but he wanted a transfer
number … I said they were being emailed to
me.
"He's still waiting for his money. He
sent me a message on Wednesday
night saying 'hello, are you there?'
"I haven't replied yet, I'm going to block him
soon."
Mr Nichols said he passed on an email
address associated with the scammer to the
Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission via its Scamwatch website.
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