Facebook scams damaging wallets and reputations

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - A former elected official for 20 years and Omaha businessman far longer, Marc Kraft took more than a pension into retirement.

“My name is all I have to pass onto the next generation,” Kraft said.

The former city councilman, then county commissioner, no longer deals with government funds. But a scammer that hacked his Facebook profile has made it look like Kraft promotes a grant.

“It’s dangerous to the people who believe it, and insulting to me,” Kraft said. “I find it hard to believe anyone would believe some of these things -- but they put my name on it and that adds credibility.”

Being on Marc’s Facebook friends list, I got a phony message that he received a $150,000 grant and I could get the same.

This is where a hijacked Facebook page reveals a scammer is no friend -- by encouraging you to clock on a link that instead of getting you free money, grants access to your personal information.

The Better Business Bureau warns a link click can allow scammers into your financial life.

“It can take you off the platform to a site in which malware can be downloaded onto your desktop, which more lucrative accounts from a scammer’s perspective can be infiltrated,” said Josh Planos of the BBB.

Marc says the bogus posts using his image don’t appear on his Facebook page.

“I scrolled through and through and didn’t find anything,” Kraft said.

75-year-old Kraft won’t run for office again -- but the respected former public servant is starting a campaign to warn friends his Facebook has been hacked.

“Get a hold of Facebook and tell them it’s not me,” Kraft said. “I would never post such things.”

Facebook has been alerted to the posts, but so far, there’s been no response on what will be done about it.

The FBI does investigate these kinds of scams when complaints are filed through the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

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