Dearborn Co. Sheriff's Office Warns Residents of Facebook Scam

Scammers are acquiring Facebook accounts and using personal information to make sales look believable.

Above are example Facebook posts that have been circulating on various “BUY/SELL” pages, as well as personal pages in our area. Photo provided.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – The Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office is warning local residents of a Facebook scam.

According to a news release, the scammers are acquiring account information from individuals in our area and then posting as the individual on Facebook claiming to have items available for sale.

Once the scammer gains access to the victim’s account, the victim is being blocked from Facebook by changing the password to the account.

Tips to protect your Facebook account and password

• Avoid using anything that’s personally identifiable such as your name, phone number, birthdate or address
• Ensure your password is at least six characters long and complex with a combination of letters, numbers, etc.
• Change your password every six months.

Investigators say the scammers are using the personal information from the Facebook accounts to make the sales believable, such as a post about the death of a loved one. Scammers take that information and claim they are the victim selling fake items from the deceased person’s estate.

The scammers are claiming that the item or items will only be available for a short time and that action must be made quickly through a “DM” or direct message. They are then requiring payments or deposits be made through services such as Venmo prior to exchange of the item.

The Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office reminds citizens that scammers often pressure you to act immediately, and require payment to be made electronically and not in person. Often, a deal a scammer is trying to make is too good to be true.