Couple loses $44K in Facebook customer service scam
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Oregon couple got scammed out of a life-changing amount of money after attempting to call a customer service line for help logging back into Facebook.
The victims, who asked to remain anonymous, were hoping to sell some items on Facebook Marketplace, but ended up losing $44,000 in an irreversible wire transfer.
Here's how it started:
The husband forgot his Facebook password. He ended up searching for Facebook's customer service on Google, but unaware—he ended up on a fake site that mimicked the real Facebook and called the 1-800 helpline that was listed.
At the time, he didn't realize there was an additional letter in the website URL, which would have been a red flag that it was an illegitimate website.
"They convinced me that his credit card had been hacked," the wife said.
The couple, both in their early 70s, panicked about their money, so the wife says she followed the person's instructions and clicked on a link.
"So I'd click on that so they could have control over my laptop and they could talk to me on my cell phone," she said.
From there, the scammer—who was impersonating a Facebook employee—showed her what looked like fraud on her bank account.
"They had me wire transfer a total of $44,000 to clean everything up," she said.
But even that bank account page was phony. Now, reality is setting in as she'll have no way of getting all that money back.
"The last two weeks have been very stressful. I generally run 110/72 blood pressure. My blood pressure last week was close to 200/75," she said. "I'm not going to trust a lot anymore."
It’s incredibly difficult to recoup wire transfer funds that have been lost in a scam because it's untraceable. If you do get scammed, contact local law enforcement, as well as your bank or financial institution. You can also report fraud here.
Here are other things to look for:
Payment Methods That Scream “Scam” - Gift cards, cash-to-cash money transfers, wire transfers, a cash reload mechanism, express mail of cash
Red Flags - Asking for bank account or routing number and creating panic, urgency with claims of fraud
The customer service scam has been reported to the FBI. According to the FBI, these kinds of scams go largely underreported due to people feeling embarrassment or shame.