Facebook friend requests from strangers can be red flags, but requests from old pals wanting to reach out are harmless, right?
Cheryl Albrecht from North Carolina thought so too, and it almost cost her thousands of dollars.
Albrecht, who works at Randolph County Senior Adults Association, received a Facebook request then a message from an older woman.
Even though she knew her, the message sounded too good to be true. She told Albrecht that she had won money and that she had seen Albrecht's name on the winner's list. She then instructed her to send a friend request to a man—someone Albrecht didn't know—to claim her prize.
She reached out to him, who then asked her for personal information, like her address and marital status. Not only that, he said he would need $2,000 from her so she could get the prize money. Sounds fishy, doesn't it? Albrecht thought so too, and she never sent any money and stopped communicating with him.
Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. The man continued to message and "hound" her, asking if she wanted the prize money. Not long after that, another man messaged her about a Facebook lottery she won and provided a certificate.
Luckily, Albrecht, knew better, and also found out that the initial request she received from the woman was from a fake account, posing as someone she knew.
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the Facebook lottery is a scam meant to infect computers with malware. They suggest to be weary of any message you receive out of the ordinary that asks you to click on anything.
Albrecht was fortunate enough to catch onto the scam quickly, and hopes others will learn from her close call.
By Marlisse Cepeda
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