In recent weeks, several cases of scams under the guise of competitions on Facebook Messenger have been reported to the Police. In reality, participants end up victims of fraudulent withdrawals from their bank accounts.
Updated: 27.01.2026 12:13
The scam generally begins with a message sent via Facebook Messenger by a real “friend” of the victim (see screenshot above), the police explained in a press release this Tuesday.
The fraudster actually uses the hacked profile of the friend in question. After obtaining the victim’s telephone number, the exchange with the fraudster most often continues on another instant messaging service, e.g. WhatsApp.
The victim is then invited via a link to participate in a competition, with a large sum of money to be shared in two equal parts. After completing the participation form and submitting all their data, the participant is informed that a six-digit code will be sent to them shortly. This will make it possible to verify a possible gain, and must be communicated to the interlocutor.
By complying, the victim grants the fraudster, without realizing it, access to your phone and online banking. Any mistrust on the part of the victim is reassured by false registered gift vouchers or bank statements indicating fictitious transfers from the so-called competition organizer. Throughout the process, the victim is often put under pressure and encouraged to act quickly.
The cases most often reported concerned fake competitions allegedly offered by Cactus or Delhaize supermarkets.
The police therefore recall these precautionary principles:
- Beware of easy wins and ads that are too good to be true.
- Always verify the identity of your correspondent.
- If applicable, check whether the company or business mentioned actually exists, and whether it has published any information (on its official pages, sites or social networks, etc.) regarding the competition in question.
- The absence of official competition rules can be a sign of fraud, as can spelling mistakes and translation errors.
- Never share personal and sensitive data requested from you via email, SMS or other messaging services.
- Take the time to think before you act. The more urgent the interlocutor is and pushes you to react quickly, the more you should be wary.
- If you think this is a scam, break all contact with the person immediately.
If you have been a victim of such a scam, please contact immediately police station of your choice.
The police also advise you to also inform the elderly people around you about this scam and make them aware of this subject.
