A Henry County man has been scammed out of $18,000 after falling victim to a government grant scam. The scammers reached out to the victim on Facebook Messenger pretending to be his brother-in-law, who gave him information about a supposed government grant.
After he had contacted someone impersonating a government official, the scammers directed him to send cash, gift cards, and personal information to secure his grant.
According to his wife, the victim was ill at the time he was getting scammed.
The Better Business Bureau ScamTracker has had 346 reports of government grant scams nationally in 2022, through June 21. The total amount lost so far has been $486,852.
According to the BBB, in typical government grant scams, scammers will contact victims via phone, email, or through social media. They will claim you need to pay fees, either to secure the grant or pay a processing fee. The grants are attractive to consumers with their claims of free money that you never have to repay, but the money doesn’t exist, and the scammers pocket the processing or security fees.
BBB has some tips on how to spot government grant scams:
- Scammers would have you believe that government grants are there for the taking. In reality, obtaining a government grant is an involved process, and one where the grant seeker pursues the funds, not the other way around. If someone is actively soliciting you to give you money, that’s a red flag that you are dealing with an imposter.
- If you must pay money to claim a free government grant, it is not really free. A real government agency will not ask you to pay an advanced processing fee.
- Check for look-alikes. A caller may say they are from an administration or department that isn’t real. Be sure to do your research and see if an agency or organization actually exists. Find contact info on your own and call them to be sure the person you’ve heard from is legitimate. The only official list of all U.S. federal grant-making agencies is www.grants.gov.
- Be careful with unsolicited calls asking for your banking information.
Report suspicious activities to BBB.org/ScamTracker to help other consumers avoid being scammed.
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Crystal Graham
