ALERT!- Facebook Bonus Scam – ALERT!

Published On December 17, 2020 | By Tom Huskerson | Alerts, Fraud, Scams, Hoaxes & Hacks, News and Analysis

Yes, another holiday scam! Experts are warning Facebook users to be on the alert for a “Christmas bonus” scam which appears to be endorsed by their friends on the social network. It ain’t!

A good scam never really goes away and this one is no different. It’s has floating around on Facebook since 2015.

In the latest version users are being targeted by messages claiming to offer them a “Christmas bonus” or “Christmas benefit,” according to the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC).

“Facebook users receive messages from individuals in their contact lists about winning a ‘Christmas bonus.’ The messages are coming from the cloned accounts of their friends, and state that the individual has won a Facebook Christmas Bonus Giveaway.” You didn’t!

“The targeted victim is then directed to contact a ‘Facebook Agent,’ who will send a message that [it] is a random contest sponsored by [legitimate US lottery game] Powerball.”

Every variation on this theme is a little different but the bottom line is scammers are trying to steal either your personal information or your money, or both.

Scammers will ask for your personal details in order to process the ‘bonus.’ They may also ask for a small ‘transfer fee’ in order to wire the winnings into the victim’s bank account. Ok, so you gonna pay money to get money. That’s a scam tip off right there!

The ITRC urges you to delete any such messages and let your friends know that their account may have been hijacked or cloned. They can also report any attempted fraud like this to Facebook.

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About The Author

Tom Huskerson Bio Born in Richmond Virginia Tom Huskerson is a military veteran who settled in California after his discharge. Tom attended Santa Barbara City College where he began his writing career as a campus reporter. He worked as an intern news reporter for the Santa Barbara News-Press writing feature stories before moving on to San Francisco. At San Francisco State University Tom studied broadcast communications and began to focus on the Internet. He completed his graduate thesis on Internet advertising. Tom was the first student to ever focus on the Internet as a graduate student at San Francisco State University. After graduation he went to work for Zona Research in California’s Silicone Valley. As a research associate Tom supported senior analyst writing on the latest developments in the Internet industry. During the dot com boom Tom worked for several web businesses as a market researcher and analyst. As a writer and researcher Tom has authored various technical works including a training program for Charles Schwab security. Other projects included professional presentations on workplace violence and hiring security contractors. Tom has also written both fiction and non-fiction works and blogging for a travel website. He has published two books of short stories and completed two novels. Tom is the owner of Scribe of Life Literature and EbonyCandle.com. Tom is not the chief editor for the OnTechStreet. com. A news and information blog that focuses on tech news for African-Americans. The blog is the result of his desire to inform the African American community of the dangers and benefits of the cyber age. In his blog Tom reports on information security, new and analysis, scams and hoaxes, legal happenings and various topics that arise from the age of information. Tom believes that technology is a necessary tool for black people and they should know what is happening. Tom writes believing that techno speak is for the professional and that valuable information can be communicated using plain language. As a result he has embraced the motto, Less Tech, More Knowledge.

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