Amber Hunt

ahunt@enquirer.com

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Forget phone calls and door knocks. Today’s scammers are just as likely to use Facebook.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine this week is warning that residents statewide have reported being duped by too-good-to-be-true offers that pop up on social media sites.

“Scams can be found anywhere, and social media is no exception,” DeWine said in a Friday news release. “The same rules that apply to other scams apply here – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and if a stranger asks you to wire money, beware as it’s likely a scam.”

Some of the most prevalent social media scams are called “flipping cash” schemes, and here’s how they work: Users on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram advertise that they’ve figured out how to turn a couple hundred dollars into thousands. The account boasts dozens of “thank you” comments from supposedly satisfied customers, prompting others to send a message to check it out.

The scammer instructs the wannabe investor to load $100 or so on a prepaid debit card, which the scammer then drains.

“The truth is, once payment is made with a prepaid card or other form of payment, the money disappears overseas or who-knows-where and there is no investment made to the victim,” Sandra Guile, spokeswoman of the Cincinnati Better Business Bureau, told The Enquirer in an email.

How to tell it’s a scam? Scammers almost always ask for payment through methods that are tough to trace, such as wire transfers or prepaid cards.

“Law enforcement officials are unable to trace these funds and, in most cases, are unable to retrieve the funds,” Guile said.

DeWine said a Dayton resident recently was duped of $150 on Instagram through a flipping-cash scheme. Neither the Attorney General nor the BBB reports fielding complaints from Cincinnati yet.

Other social media scams include prize and grant scams, in which consumers wire hundreds of dollars after finding an offer for a prize or grant on Facebook. The offers always turn out to be bogus.

“In addition, scammers can take advantage of consumers who post vacation plans or other personal information on social media,” according to DeWine’s news release. In “emergency” scams, scammers hack into those accounts and pose as the out-of-town friends who claim to need money to get out of a foreign jail or to fix their broken-down automobiles.

Don’t be a Victim

• You know the adage, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”? Take out the “probably.” Replace it with “always.”

• “Use common sense when seeking ways to supplement your income,” warns the Better Business Bureau. “Anyone who claims to be able to turn a small investment into piles of cash in mere minutes is a scam artist.”

• Be wary of attempts by strangers to get you to use prepaid money cards or wire transfer services.

• Conduct online searches based on the info you know about the potential scammer, including the person’s name, online user ID or email address. Use keywords to see if others have posted online about being duped by this type of scam or this particular person.

• Be skeptical of unexpected social media postings that appear to be from friends. Before sending money, always verify the friend actually sent the post rather than an imposter.

• Suspect you’ve been targeted by a scammer? Contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at 800-282-0515 or www.OhioAttorneyGenera.gov.

Sources: Enquirer research, the Better Business Bureau and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office