by Brett Kast
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WIXOM, Michigan (W X Y Z) — A man in Wixom is issuing a Facebook scam warning after his home address was used to trick victims.
A fake profile selling items online would request a deposit and then provide the address where buyers could pick up the item. The homeowner only found out when he received a surprise knock on the door.
“Yesterday my family and I were having dinner and there was a knock on the door,” explains Steve Anton of Wixom. “We open the door and the guy says to me, ‘Are you Harris family?’”
It was that simple visit that led Anton to discover that his house was at the center of a Facebook scam. Someone in a local Facebook group using the name “Emily Harris” claimed they were moving and listed various items for sale, from a golf cart to an ATV to a sofa. The page was selling many large items and asking for a deposit to hold it. The fake profile then provided Steve’s address so buyers could pick it up. At least one person says the fake profile scammed them out of $400.
“I was stunned,” Anton said. “I was shocked, I had never heard of this scam before”
The Good Samaritan at Steve’s door wasn’t fooled, but alerted Steve, who then shared a post on Facebook calling the seller.
“I was afraid that people would start knocking on my door every day and ask ‘Where is my product? I just gave you a deposit,’” Anton said.
Laura Blankenship is chief of staff for the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. She says that scams like this one on Facebook are all too common.
“Unfortunately, scams in the marketplace happen many times a day,” Blankenship said. “For scams like these, they often never get their money back.”
Even if the seller is in a local Facebook group, the person behind the account could be anywhere in the world. Blankenship says these scammers are often from outside the United States and there isn’t much local law enforcement can do.
She recommends that people don’t pay upfront and look at the account selling the item.
“Do not use a third party unless you are face to face with that person and have the item in hand, never pay for it until you see the item in person,” Blanksenship said. “You always want to look at a profile that is well built. That you can go back and see that they got together several years ago, not just recently, and they have real photos and a lot of friends who really seem to know them.”
Meanwhile, Anton is spreading the word, hoping that no one shows up on his doorstep with an already empty wallet and leaves empty-handed.
“If it sounds too good to be true and they ask you for money up front, don’t do it,” Anton said.
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