Dearborn County, IN — The Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office says scammers are gaining access to area Facebook accounts and selling fake items.
Deputies say scammers hack into accounts and change the password to prevent the victim from gaining access to their page.
The scammers then pose as the victim and use their information to sell fake items.
For example, deputies say if the user recently posted about a loved one’s death, the scammer will try to sell phony items the loved one owned to help liquidate the items from the true estate.
The sheriff’s office says the scammers will claim the item will be available only for a limited time and that anyone who wants to purchase an item must send a Direct Message, or “DM,” to the scammer.
Deputies also say scammers will require deposits or electronic payments through apps such as Venmo prior to the exchange.
The sheriff’s office suggests protecting your Facebook account by avoiding using anything that can personally identify you such as your name, address, phone number, or birthdate; ensuring your password is at least six characters long and complex with a combination of letters and numbers, and changing your password every six months.
Deputies say scammers will pressure you to act immediately, make it sound too good to be true, and require payments to be made electronically and not in person.
