A suspicious account on the social media platform Threads, owned by Meta, has been identified as a likely recovery scammer. Which? concluded this after inspecting the account and its behaviour, noting that recovery scammers typically promise to get money back for a fee, but victims will not see their money returned.
The newly created Threads account, which claims to offer scam advice, raised suspicions. Its pinned post asks for names and pictures of scammers, a tactic often used by recovery scammers who claim they can track down those who have defrauded victims. The account was created two months ago, and its profile picture was found in over 100 other places online under different names.
One individual, Samantha (not her real name), was targeted by this type of scam after being defrauded by a romance scammer. She was told by the Threads account that they knew someone who could help recoup money, including funds paid using cryptocurrency, and that this person worked for the NCA (National Crime Agency).
Samantha was directed to a contact on Telegram and asked to pay £110 for the service. She became suspicious when asked to pay into personal PayPal accounts, with the scammer claiming the 'official' company account was unavailable. Which? has contacted Meta about the scam, and Meta stated it is investigating the account.