A woman from Ballymoney has lost money after being scammed on Facebook Marketplace, an online selling platform provided by the popular social media site.
According to Causeway Coast Community, Police are now investigating following a report by the victim, with a PSNI spokesperson saying, “A report was made after 10 am today (Wednesday 8 July) that a woman had tried to purchase vouchers from an unknown woman via a social media site.
“The seller asked to be sent half of the money via Paypal before showing the buyer the vouchers.
“Unfortunately, the woman was duped into making the transfer and she lost a significant amount of money.”
Marianne Blaney, the owner of Daisy Mae Boutique who was the victim of the scam on Facebook Marketplace, said: “Generally, I would be pretty savvy, but this caught me out.
“They gave me an address, but it was a 2 hour round trip, so she said if I sent half, then once I got the voucher confirmed ( Galgorm ) the value, I would send the rest.
“Pretty much after I sent the money, they blocked me.
“I feel so stupid.
“I would like to raise awareness for people never to use friends & family payments on PayPal despite thinking it might be ok.
“The profile looked legit but has since been deleted.”
Inspector Mullan said: “We understand how distressing it is for victims who are swindled out of their hard-earned money. I want to take this opportunity to urge people to be vigilant.
“The threat of fraud, both online and offline, against the public is a constant focus for us, and I want to take this opportunity to again appeal to people that on no account should anyone disclose their personal or financial details over the phone or online; always err on the side of caution.”
