Scammers Target Yukon Woman On Facebook

Scammers targeted Facebook, and one metro victim was out big money.

Friday, January 23rd 2015, 10:03 pm

By: News 9


Scammers targeted Facebook, and one metro victim was out big money.

It was a problem that sparked calls to News 9's Consumer Hotline.

Terry Gleason said she is out of $700, and she never thought she was in the middle of a scam.

This wasn't an advertisement, or a message from a fake loan company. Gleason said she was scammed by someone posing as one of her Facebook friends.

“Here's proof that I sent $700,” said Terry Gleason, as she showed News 9 a ‘money gram' receipt.

All week, Gleason had been texting and calling the people she thinks scammed her.

“I know I did wrong,” said Gleason. “I just wanted the best for us.”

Gleason said the scam started Monday. She and a woman who she thought was a friend from her hometown near Canton were chatting through Facebook messenger.

“And I said, ‘Hey, how you doing? What you been doing with your life?' Just old time talk,” said Gleason.

But then Gleason said that conversation quickly began to focus on a lucrative financial opportunity.

Terry said she was told she could get $70,000, and her friend promised her this was the real deal. In fact, she said the friend told her she had already received her money.

“I did feel confident about it, yes I did,” said Gleason.

So, Gleason was given the name and contact information for two different men. She said they told her, via text, they were with the 'Facebook Empowerment Bonus Delivery Team,' and all she had to do was send $700.

“That's something that you should never do. You should never have to pay up front money for somebody else to loan you money,” said Kitt Letcher with the Better Business Bureau.

Letcher said calls about scams like this are coming in daily.

“And we tell people all the time, if it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true,” said Letcher.

“I was just trying to make things better for our life, that's all I was doing,” said Gleason.

Even after Gleason sent that $700 to the scammer, they wanted an additional $1,400. The scammers told Gleason the IRS had a hold on the $70,000 check, and that money was needed to release it.

If you feel you've been a victim of a scam, report it the Better Business Bureau.

“The information in this news story was provided by law enforcement with the request News 9 inform the public of, and/or assist in locating a person in connection with, a police investigation. News 9 is cooperating with authorities by informing, and/or seeking the assistance of, the public in this investigation. The information and the photographs or video in this news story was provided by law enforcement and News 9 can make no independent verification of the accuracy of the information provided to it in this request by police or other law enforcement agencies.”

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