Consumer Alert
Free money on social media? Nah. It’s a scam
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Say you’re scrolling through your social media feed and you see a post saying, “I’m the winner of $600 million from the Powerball lottery. I’m giving away $50,000 to the first one thousand people to message me.” Would you answer? If you do, you could become the target of a scam.
Scammers are impersonating lottery winners on social media, often using the names of real winners to make their posts sound legit. If you reply to their posts, the fake lottery winner might ask for your phone number and send a text saying you won the money but need to act fast. That’s the first red flag. Why the time pressure?
Then they’ll tell you to put hundreds of dollars on gift cards, take pictures of the cards, and text the numbers from the back of the card to cover “processing and delivery fees.” That’s definitely a scam. Only scammers ask for gift cards as payment.
Just commenting on a post like this might seem fun and harmless. But it can lead you to engage with a scammer…and your feed will be bombarded with similar posts and even more scammers to deal with. Avoid them with these steps.
- Don’t pay to get a prize. Real prizes are free. Anyone who asks you to pay a fee for "taxes," "shipping and handling charges," or “processing fees” to get your prize is a scammer. Stop and walk away.
- Ignore “free money” posts. Anyone in your social media feed saying they have money to give you is a scammer.
- Never send money to someone you met online. Especially one who insists you only pay with gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or payment apps like Apple Pay, CashApp, PayPal, or Zelle. That’s a sign of a scam.
People who know about scams are more likely to be able to spot them. So, please share what you know with your friends and family, and report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
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May 21, 2024
1. Report
2. Block
3. Delete
May 21, 2024
Very helpful if not obvious.
May 21, 2024
Thanks for your warning. I appreciate you.
May 21, 2024
At least once or twice a week I receive something from someone on Facebook.com telling me that they have received anywhere from $150,000 to $450,000 in cash from someone representing the Community Block Development Program (CBDP) or some other type of Federal Program. All I have to do is connect with their site or someone's and answer a few simple questions and give them authority to takeover my Facebook page to solicit/contact people on my address book and they will send thousands of dollars to my friends. I have shut off these people in any way possible.
I believe that you should know about this as this is fraud (if nothing else).
June 18, 2024
In reply to At least once or twice a… by Steve Brown
I just received a notice that I've been awarded
$450.000 dollars . Now they just asked for my full name , address , and telephone number . So
The Fed-ex can deliver the money . They want me to set up an appointment with them on Friday .I believe over the phone .. do you think this is a scam ? or Legitimate
May 22, 2024
Sounds like mostly Facebook scams, but I do see these stupid scammers on Twitter once in a while.
They always have tiny accounts with unbelievable stories about sharing their win 😜
I never follow back, but just report them.
May 22, 2024
What about all these abbs about money from the Government 5400.00 6400.00 for low income and seniors
May 22, 2024
In reply to What about all these abbs… by Joann Davis
The government doesn't offer "free money" for individuals. Federal grants of free money are usually only for states and organizations. But you might be able to get a federal loan for education, a small business, or other reasons. Learn about help paying for food, health care, or utilities on this federal government page: www.usa.gov/benefits.
May 23, 2024
In reply to What about all these abbs… by Joann Davis
You missed those on disability, but I believe that goes without saying.
May 23, 2024
I am so glad the FTC rolled up their sleeves and embarked in a consumer education and fraud prevention campaign, a task that should be within all (state and federal) consumer protection agencies consumer education activities and campaigns.
Bravo FTC!
May 23, 2024
PCH publisher's clearing house is actual true.. But PCH Publisher clearing house being used as Scammers saying you have won..
May 23, 2024
I had a scammer inpersonate my dad on Facebook. They somehow know I am disabled and said to reply to some fake account displaying someone I do not know, and said to reply now to this fake profile to claim my earnings of some fake disability program. Acting as is they were my dad, they claimed he won my by replying to this fake Facebook account.
May 28, 2024
Thanks for the info. I thought it was a scam but there was that "what if" feeling. Your info brought peace of mind.
May 30, 2024
They often use fake celebrity endorsements that look real. Dr Phil ,Dr Oz and Taylor swift are scammers current favorites.
June 03, 2024
Scoot Johnson is supposed to be a government agent, for hhs ,do not contact him on Facebook messenger, for a grant, he has taken a lot of money from me ,and no grant to date .bit late for me ,but be aware of the name
AGENT SCOOT JOHNSON
June 10, 2024
Received a text saying I've been chosen to receive a million dollars. Too suspicious
June 13, 2024
That very scam I've won 371 million. And I wanna give you 100k. Happening right now on Instagram!
June 17, 2024
What about emails
June 20, 2024
Watch out for Mavis Wancykz on Social Media and Danielle Lam on social Media too, both saying you've won! Hahahaha
June 21, 2024
In reply to Watch out for Mavis Wancykz… by KRW
What can they do with a name and address?
July 05, 2024
This person said I won a million dollars he’d name is Alerahawkins785 said she works for Facebook sent me a picture of her badge and everything sent me a picture of the winning statement Sent us assurance letter and everything. What should I do?
July 10, 2024
I received a text from a Glenda Owens from 256 223 3469. Stating they are giving away money (all I have to do is send $50.00)
July 10, 2024
I just got a text from someone saying that they work for FedEx and sent me his personal identification card from FedEx and it really don’t look like the person on the picture. So he tells me I was chosen by this woman who won the Iowa Lottery Powerball and is giving $250,000 to people. I asked a few questions and he answered quickly and to me kind of suspicious but I went along with it to see where it takes me. So he proceeded to ask for my name and address and wanted my ID or DL I said I don’t have any. He said no problem and continued to say that I had to act promptly I
Within 1hr to pay $35 processing fee to claim the $250,000. I already know it’s a scam soon as I saw the first red flag free money, come on who really does this? Any way now he keeps texting me how am I going to pay I have no credit cards he tells me to get a gift card and let him know when I’m getting it so he can tell me which one to get, omg really this guy has some nerve. So now I’m reporting him to whom ever I need to so he don’t keep doing this to nieve people and they do scam people too.
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