The cheating husband laptop scam and how you could be a victim

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Facebook Market Place scams are evolving.

Last month’s scam was about a distraught father who wanted to give away his late son’s PlayStation. This month’s flavor is a scorned wife who caught her husband cheating.

“I am giving out this laptop Pro that I bought to surprise my husband for her birthday but then caught her cheating on me,” the scammer wrote. “I know I could sell it and get my money back, but I want to show her I gave it away for nothing like her is to me.”

How are scammers making money? They provide a sob story and ask for money for shipping purposes. In this case, the scammer is asking for $70 via the Cash App.

Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle make it easier to request smaller amounts and scam more victims. Plus, once the payment is sent, there’s no way to get the money back.

Peer-to-peer apps are the same as cash.; internet highways to move money from one banking institution to another.

What makes scams like these believable are the Facebook profile. They are real profiles. Scammers are hijacking Facebook and Instagram accounts to add credibility. Potential victims are likelier to believe someone who lives near them with an extensive friend network and perhaps mutual friends.

Takeaways

• Never use peer-to-peer apps like Cash App to send money to people you don’t know.
• If it’s free, you don’t have to send money. Arrange pickup in person.
• Search the seller’s name for duplicate profiles
• The most important takeaway is to protect your online identity. A scammer may be using your image to post a scam, but you won’t know unless you check for duplicate profiles.
• Go to Facebook Settings and privacy (under your account in the top right corner) and perform a privacy checkup.
• The less information made available to the public, the less susceptible it is to online identity theft.

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