According to Action Fraud, criminals are using unknown methods to hack into people’s Facebook accounts and sending messages to the victim’s contacts. One victim reported a loss of GBP 3,800 after being targeted by the deception.
The messages use a variety of excuses, including eBay transactions, and ask for a target to receive payments through their PayPal account and then transfer it to another account of the scammers’ choosing. Once the funds are transferred to their account the fraudsters use a chargeback claim on PayPal to reclaim the initial payment, leaving the PayPal account holder out of pocket.
The criminals also use the hacked Facebook accounts to request targets’ WhatsApp details, including their phone number.
Action Fraud recommends to check if Facebook messages are genuine by contacting the senders via other means.
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