Newtownabbey man targeted by Facebook scammer

Residents are being urged to be vigilant after a Newtownabbey man received a message on social media stating that the Government were giving out £150,000 to people who were unemployed and disabled.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Sep 2019, 10:53 BST
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The message appeared to be from a friend on Facebook.

Detailing the incident, a spokesperson for Scam Wise NI said: “The man was sent a link which requested that he transfer £500 in order to have the money released.

“As he didn’t have that much money available to send, he was instructed to buy some online vouchers and forward pictures of the codes.

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“The code sent did not work and the scammer requested another one was bought. Thankfully before the victim had a chance to do this, he was speaking to his friend who was able to confirm that the messages were not from him and his Facebook account must have been hacked.

“Financial institutions, utility companies, law enforcement, HMRC, internet and telecoms providers or other public bodies will never ask for payment in vouchers.”