DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County woman said she’s paid thousands of dollars to a hacker.
Barbara Reynolds said they’re transactions she desperately paid with the hope of getting her Facebook account back.
“I said can they help me,” Reynolds told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln.
Consumer advisors call what happened to Reynolds a Facebook Recovery Scam. It’s a ploy, experts say to trick people into paying money, in order to get their social media account back after getting locked out.
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“Some of those people will contact you and you don’t know if you can get your account back and at the time you don’t know if they’re scammers,” Reynolds said.
She reached out to Channel 2 Action News after we reported on Facebook user Pamela Copeland whose account was hacked
“Anything Pam Copeland on Facebook, that is not me, that is not me,” Copeland told Lincoln.
Reynolds says she paid thousands to at least 5 different recovery accounts. One user, who goes by @Gregfix_ on the social media platform X, told Reynolds her account was recoverable if she paid them $88. X has since suspended that account.
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She paid the money, but the user then told her there was an issue and she would have to pay another $150.
After each payment Reynolds made additional charges were requested. And yet Reynolds was still locked out of the Facebook account. Consumers say the tactic these individuals used is a common way they get money out of people with this scam.
“They’re out there scamming people,” she said.
The Better Business Bureau says red flags include vague claims of suspicious account activity, requests for personal information, multiple requests for payment, and threatening language.
“it’s happening so much I think they’re overwhelmed and who knows how long it will take them to get back to you” because I’ve done everything I could,” she said.
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to META for a comment they have not responded.
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