By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — Police spoke with a woman who was almost scammed through Facebook Sept. 29. The woman said she heard through a third party source about a financial assistance program where the federal government provided individuals additional grants for pandemic assistance.
She contacted the unknown suspect organization through Facebook with no identifiable information other than a phone number. The suspect requested personal information including a photo of the front and back of the woman’s driver’s license, Social Security number, address, place of employment and salary along with pieces of personal identifiable information,
In return, the woman would be confirmed whether or not she was eligible for the Pandemic Assistance Subvention grant. The suspect sent her messages stating the woman was eligible for an unknown amount of money provided she was able to pay an unknown amount of deductible. According to the report, the woman did not have the money so she did not make any transactions. She was also concerned that she was scammed and is in fear someone may use her information.
Police provided the woman a case number and was referred to an identity theft website for additional resources on how to prevent and protect her identity.