Advertising through social networks objects to sell has become popular. Even vehicles and even homes are now being sold through Facebook ads.
However, this has also opened the door to different forms of fraud.
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Mauro Isaías Colindres Concoba is accused of perpetrating several scams of this type. His way of operating allowed him to appropriate vehicles that were for sale through Facebook.
His victims were the people who advertised the sale of their cars on the social network. Colindres contacted them through the Messenger and agreed to buy.
At the time of delivery of the vehicle, he paid by check. When clients asked to make the deposit to a bank account for greater security, it was also done with a check.
However, hours later, the owners of the vehicles realized that the check issued had no funds to be cashed or for the deposit to be made effective.
Therefore, they filed complaints with the Public Ministry. On June 19, Colindres was arrested by the National Civil Police (PNC) in Sololá when he was driving a pick-up with a report of theft.
But, this Saturday, June 25, the detainee was notified of another arrest warrant, for the same crime, at the Chimaltenango Preventive Center.
According to the PNC, in 2021 alone there were more than 90 complaints of scams related to the use of Facebook. In many cases, the deception began through the Messenger and followed by communication on other social networks.
Some of the victims have reported that they lost amounts greater than Q20 thousand due to these crimes.
According to the PNC, what the offender does is observe the person’s profile, read what information they have public, establish their family and friendship networks and create a false profile with the name of a relative who is abroad.
What the authorities advise is to review the privacy settings of accounts on social networks, avoid uploading personal information and take care that access to information is available only to close people, friends or family.
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