Victim Location 19015
Total money lost $4,000
Type of a scam Government Grant
On February 12th or 13th,2020. I received what appeared to be a legitimate Facebook friend message from FB Messenger (also a paternal relative who has known me my entire life(60 years). This is why I found this message to be so convincing ,due to the fact that she is recently widowed. The message informed me that she had been qualified to receive a government grant as a widow ($400.000)from the Department of Human Services. I was also informed that when the cash in a sealed box with personal code and a laptop computer included was delivered by FedEX and the courier; she found my name on a list of "eligible recipients" and contacted me by Messenger to "tell me the good news". Apparently , this scammer posed as this FB friend by hacking her account. I was given the names Robert Grant and Peter Loveland and a phone number which appears on caller ID as (Davidson, N.C. (980)231-6364). As a stipulation for this grant; I needed to provide credit card limits and purchase Amazon and Ebay gift cards in lieu of the processing fee. I was told to photograph the gift cards after the codes have been scratched. I was also told that I needed to also purchase gift cards to receive a D.E.A.certificate also as a so-called mandatory requirement to ensure that the cash would not be used for illegal drug activity. I also contacted this supposed Facebook friend to ask if she needed the same thing to receive the prize and was told that yes she did. I have received numerous texts asking me if I had purchased the right amount of gift cards and telling me repeatedly that the courier was on their way from North Carolina and would be arriving at my residence at a given time and that I was "holding him up". The caller with the above number (980)231-6364) called my landline several times and hanging up. I called this number and when I asked who it is , the person sounded foreign and gave me the name (ROB) with an accent . He did not speak loud and sounded shady to me. I would like to get to the bottom of this have this phone number traced . The individuals involved in this should be apprehended and held accountable for this despicable form of fraud. I will also hope to receive some form of compensation such as restitution and pain and suffering as well . In addition; I hope these individuals are brought to justice so no other person experiences this. My mental health and self-esteem are suffering as a result of this scam. If I can possibly be compensated for this ; my sense of well being will be restored. As I had previously mentioned; why I initially found this so convincing is because I (foolishly) trusted the messages due to the name of a paternal relative and Facebook friend which at first seemed so authentic.