GOLDSBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — A Wayne County couple who lost $3,000 after being scammed on social media are getting law enforcement help as they try to recover their money.
They first reached out to CBS 17 back in December to talk about the scam, and now they may be closer to getting their money back.
When CBS 17 Consumer Investigator Steve Sbraccia talked to the couple back on Dec. 17, he recommended that they get in touch with several agencies, including the Wayne County Sheriff’s office.
The sheriff assigned a detective to the case, who tells CBS 17 he is making progress.
Mark Yates spent 22 years in the Air Force, retiring on a disability in 2002. In December, he told CBS 17 he’d recently joined Facebook to keep up with old colleagues.
That’s when he got a text on Facebook Messenger from someone claiming to be his friend.
That “friend” told Yates he should apply for a $50,000 federal grant that he wouldn’t have to pay back, but there was a catch. The “friend” told Yates he had to pay a “processing fee.”
“I had to pay $3,000 into his account,” said Yates.
As soon as that money was sent, the scammer told Yates he had to pay an additional $6,500 IRS tax fee and that’s when Yates realized it was a scam.
After conducting an interview with the couple, Sbraccia suggested they contact the FBI Internet Crime Center, the…
