Greg's Corner

New dangerous scam uses pictures of your car

By Greg Collier

Imagine you’re scrolling through Facebook and all of a sudden, you see a picture of your car. Not a picture of the same make and model of your car, but your actual car. Except, not only do you not remember taking that picture, but you didn’t make that post. That would be jarring, wouldn’t it?

That’s what happened to at least one family from San Diego. A photo of their SUV appeared in a community Facebook group for nearby Tijuana, Mexico. Whoever made the post claimed that the vehicle was stolen at gunpoint in Tijuana and was offering a $1000 reward for it.

The problem with posts like this on social media is too many people will believe it without questioning it. As the saying goes, “A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on.” Many people commenting on the post are believing it like it was gospel. Some have even claimed to have seen the SUV.

So, what’s the scam? Whoever posted the photo also gave out a phone number to contact to try to claim the reward. If someone calls the number thinking they’re helping someone in need, they’ll be asked for their financial information, so the reward can be given to them. Once the scammers have that, then any number of financial frauds can be committed.

What’s dangerous about it is the family who owns the SUV could come face to face with someone who may decide they want to take back the vehicle themselves.

Unfortunately, if you’re the owner of the car, there’s not much you can do to prevent someone from taking a picture of your car in public.

However, if you see one of these posts, don’t respond to it, don’t share it, and don’t call the phone number in the post.

This is something that should be handled by the police.