How Erica* fell Victim to a Facebook Group Scam
Facebook Groups can be a scammers paradise, with many exploiting the desperation of others by posing as genuine customers and merchants.
In this article, we describe the story of a recent Facebook Group scamming, which occurred in the months preceding Ireland’s largest music and arts festival, Electric Picnic.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. It is a daily occurrence.
Social media users are not always what they seem. It can be very easy to fall victim to a scammer, as they are often highly convincing and well organized. Read about what can happen when you do not have a safe and secure transaction platform looking out for you.
*Although this story is based on real events, the name Erica is a pseudonym, used to hide the identity of the individual scammed.
Targeted on an Electric Picnic Ticket Facebook Group
In an attempt to secure two-weekend camping tickets to the music and arts gathering, Erica joined an Electric Picnic Facebook Group for buying and selling tickets.
Within her negotiations, the seller’s malicious intentions became rather apparent due to the language they used, their lack of knowledge surrounding the festival and the pricing of a ticket.
After finding a gentleman to sell her two tickets, Erica maintained her hesitancy, conducting a thorough background check into his Facebook page, friends and recent posts. She also requested evidence, asking for proof of purchase displaying his name and a screenshot of the Ticketmaster account. He supplied each request.
He was presented as a sincere and empathetic person so Erica saw no reason to terminate the transaction, and therefore progressed.
This particular Electric Picnic Facebook Group was rather familiar with online scams. However, despite their advertisements and recommendations to use Trustap, Erica decided to transfer the funds through a different payment platform.
From this moment forth, a variety of complications arose. The gentleman began to request more money, asking for an additional fee which was not previously negotiated.
When this tactic failed, he demanded she reissue the original payment, stating the first payment had not gone through.
Despite Erica’s best efforts, he insisted the tickets would not be sent until the additional payments were paid. All the while maintaining a sympathetic and apologetic temperament.
At that moment, Erica realised she had made a mistake. She had been coerced into falling for a scam. She attempted to message one more time, to confront him of his fraud. However, once challenged, he disappeared.
How to Protect Yourself Against Scams
The Electric Picnic Facebook Group provides a wonderful place for people to connect and to buy, sell or trade. For the most part it is composed of real, genuine individuals looking to transact legitimate tickets.
However, scammers have gotten more sophisticated in recent years and they are not always easily identified. It is therefore important to protect yourself by transacting through Trustap.
Trustap is an instant transactional solution for any marketplace or Facebook Group, eliminating the prospect of fraud and scams.
If Erica had opted to use Trustap, she would have been safeguarded during the payment process.
Trustap positions itself between the buyer and the seller of the product to ensure a more secure, protected, risk-free transaction.
Utilizing Trustap’s buyer protection and fraud detection features, buyers and sellers can transact with a whole new layer of security, maintaining full peace of mind.