The Better Business Bureau Of Acadiana Warns Of Facebook Scams

The Better Business of Acadiana says networking sites are useful to residents, but can also be useful to scammers, so they remind you to proceed with caution.

The latest scam the BBB is warning consumers about is one that used to come in the mail.  In a Facebook post, a person claiming to be attorney, tells the person that a distant relative died in a foreign country, and they are recipients of a fortune.

The woman responding to the Facebook message was told to wire thousands of dollars in order to collect the money, which she did, but there was no fortune, and she was out the money.

The BBB of Acadiana also warns of a similar scam were a scammer from Jamaica or other foreign country, claims you have won a new car.  If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.

The BBB offers some guidelines about how to protect your personal information on social media sites:

• Review your security settings. Check your privacy setting on all your social media accounts to ensure you aren’t sharing personal information with strangers.
• Be cautious of accepting friend requests from unknown people. This could be a scammer’s attempt to gain access to your personal information.
• Report scam profiles or suspicious activity. Some social sites, such as Facebook, have instructions on how to report fake accounts or accounts that violate the terms of the site.
• Don’t click on strange links. Even if the email came from a trusted friend or family member, do not click on any link in an email that might seem suspicious. If you have any reservations, notify the person who sent you the email to confirm what they sent and if they really sent the message.
• Check the email address of the sender. Even though a friend’s name is in the “from” field, spam email won’t always be sent from his or her email address.
• Protect your computer. Keep your anti-virus software up to date. If you click on a link, be sure to run a virus scan on your computer right away.

The BBB of Acadiana reminds consumers to always be aware of who you are communicating with.

The BBB of Acadiana services the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Landry and Vermilion.