KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – A single east Tennessee mother working two jobs to put her son through college is warning others about a scholarship scheme on Facebook. Hair stylist Michelle Lawson frequently surfs the internet, searching for possible grants to ease her financial burden.
Last month Lawson received a post on her page from her friend Karen.
“She knows that my son was going to school and she asked me about a treasury grant program through Facebook, had I heard about it. I told her no,” said Lawson. In a return post to Lawson, Karen wrote she saw Lawson’s name on a list of winners for a grant.
“So she gave me the information on how I should proceed with this grant money,” she said. It was a large amount of money: $250,000. Lawson was skeptical and wondered if it could be real. She showed us the post which said Karen, too, thought it was a scam, but she had gotten her money. That seemed to allay Lawson’s fears.
“Because I knew her as a friend and I thought it was legit,” said Lawson. At that point, Lawson went to the site to find out about the grant. She was quickly contacted by someone named Mercie Roth
“She’s an online agent of the Treasury Grant Program,” said Lawson. “She says, ‘We remember your name on our list and your money is still available.’” Lawson was excited by this point, and was told her check would arrive by UPS, but she first had to pay a $450 delivery fee. She again contacted her Facebook friend Karen to ask about the fee.
“She said, ‘Yes, I had to pay for the delivery and the transfer.’ I said, ‘Karen don’t you think is a scam?’ She said, ‘No. I got my money, Michelle.’” Lawson received a phony certificate of delivery after sending the $450. The next day, more money was required.
“I needed to pay one percent of my winnings, which would have been $2,500.” It was indeed a scheme. These scammers look for Facebook profiles that are open and not set to private. Then, they create a new Facebook account and pretend to be that person.
A Facebook friend of Brenda Parton told her she had won $50,000, but to claim her winnings, she had to pay $1,500. It really wasn’t her Facebook friend Joyce, but the schemers using her picture.
To protect yourself from being cloned and potentially schemed, it’s important to know who can access your Facebook information. Go to the padlock on the top right of your Facebook page and click “Who can see my stuff?” If it’s set to “Public,” change it to “Friends,” and do it now.
Apparently, Lawson’s friend Karen had not done that.
“I just don’t want anybody to get scammed like I did,” said Lawson. Schemers not only look for Facebook profiles that are open and not set to private, they also make friends with anyone on Facebook. Their sole purpose is that once they access your profile, they start to make a duplicate, including pictures and posts. Then they can create a new Facebook account using your name and a fake email address.
