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Public warned of scams targeting New Year using social media
31 Dec, 2020
The public have been warned of scams targeting the New Year using social media.
Police Spokesman, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ajith Rohana said that some people may send New Year greetings using social media with an additional message asking for a payment to release a gift sent by a family member or friend.
He said that Facebook and WhatsApp will most likely be used to dupe people to make payments to various bank accounts by making false assurances.
“You might get a message saying there is a gift for you and to make a payment to have the gift delivered. Do not get misled,” he said.
The Police urged the public not to make such payments to unknown accounts or open any link before it is verified.
“There are locals who are engaged in these kind of scams. There are also foreigners involved in these scams, like Nigerians,” he said.
DIG Ajith Rohana recalled how a Nigerian had duped a Sri Lankan woman using social media and obtained large sums of money.
He said that 24 Nigerians had been arrested in the recent past in Sri Lanka over social media scams. (Colombo Gazette)
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