Bryan Resident Scammed Over Easter Weekend

In the city of Bryan, Texas, a local resident claimed that he was duped during the Easter holidays. He attempted to order an inflatable bounce house from a Facebook page, but it never arrived.

How the Scam Unfolded

Patrick Linne, the victim of the scam, reported that he was lured to make a deposit payment for an inflatable bounce house he found on a Facebook page. He was organizing an Easter party and communicated with the page through Facebook Messenger to inquire about renting the item. Unfortunately, on the day the bounce house was scheduled to arrive, the page owners claimed that they were double-booked and required full payment to honor the booking.

“The day of, all of a sudden, they were double booked and they were going to need the whole payment in full otherwise they weren’t going to show up. At that point, I’d realized ‘Okay, I’ve been scammed,’” Linne recounted.

Did This Happen to Others?

After realizing the scam, Linne asked for his deposit back and was subsequently blocked by the scammers. He later found other postings by Facebook users who had encountered the same problem, suggesting that he was not the only victim of the fraudulent scheme.

Experts Advice on Avoiding Online Scams

Katie Galan, Director of Education and Community Relations with the Better Business Bureau, highlighted that such scams are not uncommon, especially on platforms like the Facebook Marketplace where unestablished businesses thrive. She encouraged extreme diligence and a few precautionary measures to lessen the chance of falling victim.

“When we’re looking at something like Facebook Marketplace, a lot of times you have people who don’t have legit businesses set up, they don’t have the appropriate documentation to be an established business. Some people are okay dealing with that, but here’s the problem: you kind of run into issues where they don’t have an official website, they don’t have official contact information, and so on,” Galan warned.

Takeaway Tips

Some practical tips to avoid scams, according to Galan, involve researching actively via search engines, making sure businesses have valid email addresses and phone numbers, and avoiding payments through online platforms. She further stressed the importance of seeing the product in person before making payments where possible. Furthermore, avoiding electronic wallet apps like Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle is highly recommended as once the transaction is done, there is no way to recover the lost money.

After such incidents, local law enforcement encourages victims to promptly file reports. This helps the police track these unscrupulous individuals and prevent similar incidents from happening to other innocent citizens.