The Batesville Police Dept (BPD) has received reports from local citizens of their social media accounts being hacked. One individual reported their account was hacked, and the hacker posted several items for sale, stating the individual was moving. The department has also received reports of victims falling for other Facebook scams. BPD reminds all citizens to stay vigilant on social media. 

Common Facebook scams

·Investment scams: Scammers may promise unrealistic monetary benefits like offering to convert a small amount of money into a larger sum (example: $100 = $1000) and solicit money from you. Typically, scammers disappear with the payment. Some types of false investment scams to watch out for include "cash flipping" scams, Ponzi schemes, or "get rich quick" schemes.

·Romance scams: Scammers may send romantic messages to people they don't know, often pretending to be divorced, widowed or in a bad marriage claiming they are seeking a relationship. They may claim they need money or your information to purchase a flight or apply for a visa. Because their goal is first to gain your trust, they may engage in conversations for weeks or months before they ask for money.

·Job scams: Scammers may use misleading or fake job postings to try and get your personal information or money. Avoid job postings that sound too good or ask you to pay anything upfront before your application is considered. When clicking on a link from a job posting, watch out for websites that seem unrelated to the original job posting or that ask for sensitive information (example: government ID) but don't use secure (https) browsing. Lottery scams: Scammers may use accounts or Pages impersonating someone you know or a legitimate organization (such as a government agency) to claim that you're among the only lottery winners you can receive for a small advance fee. The scammer may ask you to provide personal information, such as your physical address or bank details to "verify your identity" before receiving your prize.

·Loan scams: Scammers may send messages and share posts offering instant loans at a low-interest rate for a small advance fee. Once an initial payment is made, they may ask for more money to provide a larger loan or simply end the conversation and disappear with the payment.

·Donation scams: Scammers may use online accounts pretending to represent charities, orphanages, or religious figures. They would then ask for donations.

·Inheritance scams: The scammers may claim to be a lawyer or representative of the state reaching out to you about the estate of a deceased person. They may claim that you're entitled to the inheritance and ask you to provide personal information such as your physical address or bank details to receive such inheritance.

·Commerce scams: Scammers may claim to be selling goods and services online, often at a price that's too good to be true, and they may try to convince you that you can get a better price if you move the conversation to other communications channels, like email or chat apps. Once you pay them, they would stop responding, and the goods never arrive. They may create a sense of urgency to get people to act quickly to place an order and request payment through cryptocurrency.

Note: Although eligible items purchased via onsite checkout on Facebook or Instagram are covered by Meta's Purchase Protection Policies, Meta does not offer refunds for any person-to-person or offsite transactions. 

·Paid subscription services: Scammers may offer lifetime access to coveted subscription services for a one-time payment and never deliver the product.