People are losing thousands to a sophisticated scam being implemented through Facebook Messenger.
Police are warning social media users following a new surge of fraud reports; with an estimated £44,000 ending up in the hands of scammers so far.
The new hoax involves a cybercriminal pretending to be a friend/family member and contacting an unsuspecting user – asking them to use their PayPal account to process an eBay order.
Under the guise of a loved one, fraudsters explain their PayPal isn’t working and ask if funds can be transferred from your account instead.
#ScamAlert | Nationally 95 people have reported losing over £44,000 to this scam. Please share this message to help others falling victim for this online scam. For up to date information on scams & some of the work we are doing to combat #Fraud follow us on twitter @gmpfraud. pic.twitter.com/ZrffxLakOJ
Greater Manchester Police posted on their own social media to warn users about the scam, elaborating on how the online trick works in more detail.
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“Fraudsters are purporting to be friends/family stating that they have sold a camera on eBay but that they are unable to process the payment as they either do not have a PayPal account or because their PayPal account is not working.
“The request is that the message recipient receives the funds in their own PayPal account, then, after transferring it into their own bank account, they forward it onto an account controller by the fraudster.
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“If the victim agrees the payment is transferred into their PayPal account but, after the money is transferred out, the initial transaction is reversed leaving the account in negative balance.”
Police advise staying safe online by securing your account, never responding to any requests for money, verify all financial requests and inform your bank every time you make a payment.
For more information on protecting your money online, visit ActionFraud.
News
Police give crucial updates on human remains found close to M67 in Tameside earlier this week
Emily Sergeant
Crucial updates on the investigation into human remains found close to a Greater Manchester motorway have now been provided.
It comes after officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called out to the M67 in Tameside earlier this week shortly after 11pm on Monday (3 August) by road workers who made a discovery close to a bridge between junctions 3 and 4, while they were carrying our routine maintenance work on the motorway.
The motorway was then closed to the public for the majority of the following day (4 August) while a police investigation got underway.
Since then, a Home Office post-mortem has taken place to provide more details.
With police confirming that further enquiries are currently ‘ongoing’ and the investigation proceeding at pace, some information about the identity of the human remains has now been released.
It is now known that the body is that of a male aged between 20-28-years-old, approximately 5’5″ to 5’9″ tall and of medium build.
The ethnicity isn’t known at this stage, but it’s expected that this will be confirmed along with other details in due course.
“We are continuing to work with specialist teams to understand the full circumstances behind how the man’s body ended up by the bridge, how he died, and to locate next-of-kin to establish an identity,” GMP said in a statement.
Featured Image – Peter McDermott / Geograph (via Wikimedia Commons)
News
Mancs advised ‘do not travel’ today amid MAJOR region-wide train disruption
Daisy Jackson
Passengers across the North West are being told not to travel today, after a power failure triggered major disruption across the region.
A vast number of trains have been cancelled in and out of Greater Manchester due to the failure at Manchester Rail Operating Centre (ROC).
The disruption started earlier this afternoon but is expected to continue across all operator routes until the end of the day.
Now, rail operators are issuing ‘do not travel’ notices, and ticket acceptance has been put in place across all Bee Network buses and Metrolink services.
A statement shared by Manchester City Council: “Due to a power failure at the Manchester Rail Operating Centre (ROC), there is major disruption on the rail network across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and the Midlands.
“Delays and cancellations are expected on all operator routes across Greater Manchester until the end of today (Thursday 6th August). Rail operators have issued a do not travel notice with travel advice and the latest information HERE.
“Ticket acceptance is in place on all Bee Network buses and Metrolink services across Greater Manchester.”
The Manc -
24th August 2020 
