Full Notification

The South Londonderry Township Police Department is warning residents to exercise caution when communicating on social media. On January 16, 2019, a Facebook hacking and a scam were reported to the Police Department. A local resident received a 'Facebook Messenger' communication from a known Facebook friend. The resident had no reason to question the identity of the person sending the message.

The resident was told in the message that their name was seen on a “DHHS list” and they were entitled to money. The resident was told to send a text message to a phone number, which started as 1863546****. The resident sent the text message and received a message back from a person claiming to be an agent of the Federal Government. The communication included the following:

"Hello my name is Agent Thomas Cole. i work for the Department of Health and Human services with Federal Government grant Agency. i will like to know why you send me a message. if you are here for the on going UN and Government grant reply with a capital YES. ?

The correspondence continued, with the criminal offering different amounts of money if a selected payment was made.

"We will make every effort to ship your order as soon as possible. You are to choose below amount you want to claim

You pay $650 and get $100,000.00
You pay $1100 and get $150,000.00
You pay $1600 and get $200,000.00
You pay $2000 and get $300,000.00
You pay $2550 and get $400,000.00
You pay $3100 and get $500,000.00
You pay $3800 and get $600,000.00
You pay $4500 and get $700,000.00

This is a scam. In this case a hacker took over a person’s Facebook account and then used it to lure that person’s friends into a money scam. People on social media should be suspicious and skeptical anytime “Free money” is offered, or if you are asked call or text third party numbers. If you are asked to send money or give personal information, at minimum utilize a secondary and verifiable communication to authenticate the identity of the person sending the communication. Otherwise decline the communication.