HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Kris White admits she should have known better. She says she was duped out of $750 in a an elaborate Facebook scam.
"Shame on me," said White.
On Friday, the Harris County woman says she was contacted by someone posing as a friend from work. She had no reason to suspect that he wasn't telling her the truth when he explained that he had just won $250,000 in a "Facebook Powerball lottery" where user names were supposedly randomly selected. That person told White that he saw her name also on the winners list and that she should contact another person on Facebook who could help her get her winnings.
The man even sent her very official looking documents that purported to prove she was indeed entitled to the winnings.
"I'm a sucker, I guess," White said. "I believed it."
White contacted that other Facebook user and was then told she had to wire him a total of $750 in taxes to cover the winnings. White repeatedly asked if the winnings were legitimate and the other party assured her the money would be delivered to her on Monday once her money was received.
White then sent the money to an individual in South Africa. She has never received any form of payment on the alleged lottery winnings.
Both the bank and Western Union tell White they cannot help her get her money back.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office is now investigating this case. A spokesperson says you should always consider claims like this with a healthy dose of skepticism.
The FBI posted the following information about advance fee schemes: