I got scammed on Facebook | #datingscams | #lovescams | #facebookscams

Well I’ll be. After about 40 years of helping others who fell for scams, I finally fell for one myself.

One of my favourite Australian comedians, Isaac Butterfield, posted a video to Facebook that I liked so I left a comment.

A couple of hours later, I got the following reply. (Circled)

It sounded genuine as Isaac Butterfield was running a promotion not long ago that was in the back of my mind. The above was posted by a Fake profile, though.

Within minutes, I got two automated alerts from my Debit Card provider that debits had been made. I knew I hadn’t authorised any debits, so I checked my Online Banking facility.

Sure enough, two transactions for $1.45 had been made, though still sitting in a Pending to be processed status. Two clicks and the card was Locked from any further use. A quick phone call to my bank and that card is now cancelled and a different new one is on its way. No big deal. The $2.90 will eventually be refunded to me by my bank.

Analysing how it happened makes me realise the basic mistakes I made by missing (what are now) obvious signs that should have made me suspicious and now glare at me. Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing?

1. His name was all in Caps. His genuine profile isn’t in all caps.

2. There was no Facebook Verified tick next to the name in the reply I got.

3. A credit or debit card should not be needed to win any sort of prize, despite the supposedly $0.00 transaction I entered on the fake profile site.

The positives of this are to show the value of always using a “Debit Master or Visa card” rather than a credit card for online transactions.

I keep a maximum of $5.00 in my debit card account unless I’m purchasing from a store that I’m sure is legit, where I transfer the needed funds to before making an online purchase.

Lesson learnt.

Just goes to show, none of us is exempt from getting scammed

Cheers, Andrew

Andrew Leniart – Follow Me on: LinkedIn / Twitter / Facebook

IT Professional / Certified Editor / Freelance Journalist < > Helping others, to help themselves…

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