Whether you are from Brunswick, Ohio or live across the country, Facebook reaches around the globe. A woman in Santa Cruz, California answered a Facebook inquiry from a stranger who appeared to be a United States soldier in Afghanistan. When a relationship developed between the unemployed woman and the stranger, she sent him $150 for a telephone. The stranger told the woman how much he loved her and wanted to be with her so she wired him $500 for an administrative fee so he could visit her on military leave. Emails were filled with military photographs, love letters, instant messages, and official looking military documents. The woman sent an additional $1,300 to cover fees. When she received a request for another $1,300 to pay for his airfare she realized she had been scammed. The woman had joined a Facebook "cause" page to help soldiers get free airfare home. Anyone had access to the woman's personal information because she had no privacy controls set on her Facebook profile. The woman's bank account is now empty and the Santa Cruz District Attorney's Office cannot help her because international wire transfers were used. The woman should not feel alone since the District Attorney's Office reports that 50 to 100 people a month claim they have been scammed.
Something to think about when putting personal information online for the world to see!
Donna
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