By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

If you are like me you probably have approximately a million t-shirts … and yet there’s always room for one more!!! I’m always on the lookout for a fun t-shirt. But did you know that scammers are targeting you on Facebook and other social media platforms with t-shirt themed scams?

There are many twists on the scam. I’m a member of a local ski area group on Facebook and scammers are constantly posting things like this:

They try to make it look like it’s an official shirt for the ski area, or whatever the page is for, and make money off fans. If you take a look at the website address, you will note it is for “toptenusa.shop/santa-fe-ski-area” which is not the actual website of the Santa Fe Ski area! Just some scammy t-shirt selling page.

The problem is, the money isn’t going to the Santa Fe Ski area, it’s going to scammers overseas. And chances are your shirt will be low quality, if it arrives at all. In some cases you may never even get what you order.

Not to mention the potential risks of clicking on scammy links, you could end up getting a computer virus or scammed out of your login credentials. Not worth the risk.

Never click on the links in these posts, you can report them to the group admins, though the scammers usually just keep switching up accounts and reposting. Just ignore them and don’t click or interact in any way, as this will increase their reach.

In another even more awful twist, scammers will claim they are selling a shirt designed by their “disabled child” and ask if people like it and if they are willing to support them. Also a scam, there is no disabled child designing all these shirts.

I have seen similar scams in several NM Recipe Groups I am in on Facebook.

And finally, the “nobody likes my sense of humor on my timeline scam”, which I recently saw in one of my Bigfoot groups (yes, I am a Renaissance woman of many interests):

Again, best thing to do with these is either report (not always helpful as they will just make a new account and repost) or ignore. Do not react to the posts. Do not comment on the posts.

Reactions and comments will just draw attention to the scams, increasing their reach!

So next time you see a t-shirt ad in one of your fave Facebook groups, keep in mind it’s probably a scam. If you really want to support the cause, search the internet and go to their official website to make a purchase!

Editor’s note: Rebecca Rutherford works in information technology at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo