Scott Gurney, the Canadian lottery winner, has warned the public of the scammers impersonating him on Facebook to steal bitcoins. Gurney has stopped sending friend requests on the social networking platform in order to counter the con artists.
‘Too Good to Be True’
The individual who won the $55 million Canadian Lotto Max jackpot, Scott Gurney, has reported that individuals using his name to solicit bitcoins from social media users are likely scammers, a report has said. Gurney, who won the lottery, affirmed that one person informed him they lost $300 worth of bitcoins to a con artist imitating the lottery winner.
To bait victims, the scammers reportedly use fake Facebook accounts wherein Gurney is shown with the lottery check. As indicated by a report in the Times Colonist, one person lost bitcoin worth $450 after reaching one of the phony accounts. Be that as it may, in his message to individuals reacting to the scammers’ promises, Gurney said they should be wary of offers that sound too good to be true. He added:
I’m sorry that people have maybe been down on their luck and are looking for those avenues, but I don’t know many people who just hand out cash easily.
The report also revealed that some of the fake Facebook accounts had gone as far as to discredit other accounts. To combat the tactics of scammers, Gurney, a financial advisor, said he is going to stop accepting or sending friend requests on Facebook.
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation, which handed out the $55 million check to Gurney, has issued a statement warning punters to be wary of solicited messages that ask them to divulge private information.
“Anyone who gets any type of unsolicited message should be cautious and not reveal any personal information or make any monetary payment,” the Canadian Crown Corporation warned.
The lottery company also urged recipients to report such unsolicited messages to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
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