A resident of Ganshoren, a town near Brussels, was the victim of phishing on the Facebook Marketplace platform.
If Le Bon Coin is still a reference site for sales between individuals, the Facebook MarketPlace site is gaining in importance. But, the dangers are always present and it is advisable to be vigilant in the face of possible scams. This is the painful experience that Christine, a 60-year-old Belgian woman, has just had. As RTL Info tells, she lost 10,300 euros because of a scam that took place through the platform of the famous social network.
For her, the problems began at the end of last year when she tried to sell a simple piece of furniture worth 25 euros. A regular user of social networks, she is not suspicious when another user contacts her. “I looked a little at his profile, he looked quite normal, even comforting,” says the sexagenarian. They communicate through Messenger, Facebook’s internal messaging system. His “buyer” suggests that he go through DPD express, the delivery service.
A fraudulent email
Christine has never used it but is ready to give it a try. “She told me that she had made the remittance to DPD Express and that they were going to pick up the package and give me the money. But since I did not have an account yet, she said that I was going to receive an email to open an account. I received it within a minute “. In the email, a link she must click to confirm the transaction. Despite some doubts, she indicates her banking information. At the same time, a man, with a strong African accent, contacts her to “confirm the account”. But, the crook, equipped with all the necessary information, takes action. The victim sees with dismay the balance of his banking application drop. “Sir, you are busy emptying my account,” Christine then protested on the phone. With aplomb, the man persists. “No, ma’am, trust me, don’t worry, stay calm, I will reimburse you for this amount, it is because there is a problem with the transaction”.
But the damage is done. In the end, 10,300 euros disappeared from his account. Christine could only call the police to file a complaint. A file was also opened with his bank ING. “They told me that they were going to try to recover the amounts. Some had gone to PayPal accounts in Singapore, they told me it was going to be difficult. But the last two large amounts went to an account in France, and they were trying to get them back because the regulations are the same as in Belgium “.
