Police are warning the public after a deaf Oshawa woman was defrauded of thousands of dollars in a Facebook lottery scam.
Durham Regional police said the unnamed elderly woman received a friend request from someone she knew last month, who then allegedly directed her to contact a man from the “Facebook Powerball Lottery.”
The woman was then told she had won a substantial lottery, but was required to pay fees to secure her winnings.
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Initially, police said she paid $5,000 to the suspect, who then requested more money to pay taxes from the host country, and the woman then paid thousands more before realizing it was a scam.
Police said a similar case happened earlier this month, when a 58-year-old Pickering man received a message from a Facebook user telling him that he had won a lottery that was to benefit those in the deaf community.
When the man contacted the site, he was required to send $2,000 to claim the winnings but called police after additional requests for money were received.
In both cases, investigators believe the victims’ identities and their contacts were gathered from Facebook and Skype groups that included members of the deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired community.
Anyone with information or wishing to report a fraud is asked to contact Durham Regional Police at 1-888-579-1520.
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