Officials with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department wish to remind everyone to be careful on social media–especially when you see a deal too good to be true on sites and forums such as the Facebook Marketplace and even on some individual’s (friends) profiles that have been already been hacked.
The department alleges that people are sending the photos pictured here (or similar) of items for sale at incredibly cheap prices.
T Photo provided from MCSD
They say when you send money to purchase the item(s), it puts a lock on your social media account. Other scenarios might not lock your account, but the post and items are fake and it’s a scam and you will lose your money either way.
The Sheriff’s Department reminds you to always be extremely cautious when making purchases off social media and the internet…especially when they want money up-front.
It’s best to protect yourself by meeting in a public place to exchange money for small items in-person or resort to in-person transactions for large items, if local.
Experts in social media and internet security say it’s best to avoid interacting with these types of listings or posts. If you know it’s not your friend’s post — let them know by a phone call or text message (not through social media direct message — DMs) so they can attempt to secure their account. It’s also a good idea to report the post as a scam to Facebook or other platform provider.
