AN AUTHOR and former vet from Dumfries has urged social media users to err on the side of caution when chatting online after his Facebook account was used to dupe a friend out of hundreds of pounds.
Roger Windsor told of how scammers took control of his page on the social network earlier this month before changing the password.
He said the culprits then began to message his family and friends requesting they purchase gift cards for him and send on the redemption codes — adding that one individual known to him was tricked into spending £600.
Roger was unaware of the hack himself until the friend subsequently turned up at his door to enquire about getting paid back the sum.
He said he had one or two letters from people saying he might have been hacked, but added that the gravity of the situation wasn’t fully realised until receiving the visit.
“I’ve been trying to help him get his money back,” said Roger, who had his second volume of memoirs, The Veterinary Detectives: A Vet in Peru, published in 2018.
He added: “I’ve tried about ten times to contact Facebook and I can’t get any response from them at all, I’ve sent them the police file numbers and everything. What I’m concerned about is the lack of concern from Facebook.”
It follows a similar swindle reported last week, when the Facebook page of Dumfries butchers JB Houston was breached by scammers who targeted hundreds of entrants to their Valentines competition.
JB Houston owner Stuart Houston said: “There was only one prize on offer and when some people asked me why they needed their bank details to claim the prize, I knew something was up.
“We managed to put out our message quickly and thankfully nobody has lost any money through this.”
Stuart and Roger both urged anyone contacted by fraudsters online to get in touch with the police.
