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18/06/2019
Tesco Staff Praised As Scam Foiled
The PSNI has praised members of staff at a Tesco store in County Down after they prevented a man from falling victim to a scam.
The situation arose when an unsuspecting man visited the Castlebawn store in Newtownards to purchase Amazon vouchers after being convinced by an online fraudster that he was a friend.
Writing on the PSNI Ards Facebook page, an officer said: "A big thank you to the staff at Tesco, Castlebawn for your recent efforts!
"You have inevitably saved a victim from parting with some of their hard earned money thanks to your ability to spot a scam.
"A member of the public was contacted by what he believed was one of his friends via Facebook Messenger. Unfortunately this 'friend' was actually a scammer who had managed to glean information from his real friend's Facebook profile. The scammer promised large sums of money, which of course would only be payable after the victim sent 'Amazon vouchers' up front!
"No genuine company will ever conduct their business in this manner. Please be careful and remember how to spot the signs of a scam; S- seems too good to be true, C- contacted out of the blue, A- asked for personal details, M- money requested."
Anyone seeking further information or who wishes to report a scam can do so using the scamwiseni website .
(JG/MH)
The situation arose when an unsuspecting man visited the Castlebawn store in Newtownards to purchase Amazon vouchers after being convinced by an online fraudster that he was a friend.
Writing on the PSNI Ards Facebook page, an officer said: "A big thank you to the staff at Tesco, Castlebawn for your recent efforts!
"You have inevitably saved a victim from parting with some of their hard earned money thanks to your ability to spot a scam.
"A member of the public was contacted by what he believed was one of his friends via Facebook Messenger. Unfortunately this 'friend' was actually a scammer who had managed to glean information from his real friend's Facebook profile. The scammer promised large sums of money, which of course would only be payable after the victim sent 'Amazon vouchers' up front!
"No genuine company will ever conduct their business in this manner. Please be careful and remember how to spot the signs of a scam; S- seems too good to be true, C- contacted out of the blue, A- asked for personal details, M- money requested."
Anyone seeking further information or who wishes to report a scam can do so using the scamwiseni website .
(JG/MH)
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