BBB: Beware of the “fake friend scam”

 A Four-State Area woman recently heard from an old friend on social media. Then the friend told her about an unbelievable business opportunity. All she needed to do was make a small investment.

The problem was, it wasn’t an old friend at all. It was a new kind of scam.

“This woman fell for it hook line and sinker,” says Stephanie Garland of the Better Business Bureau.

“She’s highly intelligent. She used to work in a bank. She used to coach people about scams,” Garland says.

“Even so, she gave her personal information and her husband’s personal information out there and now she’s worried that their bank accounts going to get hacked and their money is going to be stolen.”

Garland says the scam is happening in Neosho, Joplin Carthage and surrounding communities.

“Don’t let this happen to you,” Garland says. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”