• News

  • TV & Film

  • PlayStation

  • Xbox

  • Nintendo

  • PC

  • Reviews

  • News

  • TV & Film

  • PlayStation

  • Xbox

  • Nintendo

  • PC

  • Reviews

  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Threads
Submit Your Content
Facebook PS5 Scam Is Duping Users With Fake Sad Story

Home> News

Published 15:22 22 Apr 2022 GMT+1

Facebook PS5 Scam Is Duping Users With Fake Sad Story

Facebook users are being warned of people posing as grieving parents trying to "give away" their dead child's new-gen console in a new scam.

Catherine Lewis

Catherine Lewis

Despite having been out for a solid year and a half, it’s still way harder than it should be to get your hands on a shiny new PS5. The perfect storm of high demand, scalpers, and limited stock thanks to the global chip shortages has meant that even now, you have to be ready to launch into those online queues with your card details comfortably memorised if you want to stand a good chance of securing one. 

It’s still really easy to miss the stock alerts and be too late to those queues though, so understandably, a lot of people are still feeling quite desperate. Sadly, that feeling can also leave people quite vulnerable to being scammed online, and currently, fraudsters are employing one particularly strange tactic to try and get money out of unsuspecting Facebook users who just want a new console.

Even if you are lucky enough to own a PS5, I doubt it'll look as cool as this custom painted one. Have a look below.

As reported on the Malwarebytes blog, there’s recently been a surge of posts in trading and selling groups on Facebook from people posing as grieving parents who can’t stand to see their dead child’s console lying around the house. An example of one of these reads: “My daughter died while coming back from college last week. She was hit by a running car, my heart bleeds everyday. I bought a PS5 for her, she never got to see it. I want to give out the PS5 for free to someone who needs it. Seeing the PS5 everyday hurts my soul.”

What generally then happens is the scammer will have anyone interested message them privately, and try to get them to pay for the shipping costs upfront. Obviously, the PS5 in question doesn’t even exist, so this is all just a way to swindle people out of some cash before promptly blocking them and vanishing into the night. 

Advert

When it comes to buying stuff online, the phrase “too good to be true” is relevant more often than not - even if a story might appear to be convincing, chances are that if someone’s offering a free PS5, there’s going to be a catch. Stay vigilant out there, folks. 

Featured Image Credit: Martin Katler via Unsplash, Bermix Studio via Unsplash

Topics: PlayStation, PlayStation 5

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
4 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • 3 hours ago

    Batman: Arkham Knight sequel release window being roasted by fans already

    Another day, another game that's years away

    News
  • 3 hours ago

    Stardew Valley: Distant Lands is a hefty expansion you can try now

    Swamptastic (sorry, not sorry)

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    MCU officially confirms its most powerful hero, is probably who you expected

    I won't argue with that

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Cyberpunk 2077: People of Night City is a wonderful new free expansion

    This is a really well considered addition to the game

    News
  • PlayStation users warned as PS5 ban error surfaces: 'bruh what'
  • PS5 users urged to claim free PlayStation Plus access
  • PS5 users hyped as another Xbox exclusive confirms port: 'about time'
  • PS5 consoles could die in a few years, users are warned