J-Goods Plumbing & Heating warns of scam involving its online giveaway

NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WJMN) – J-Goods Plumbing and Heating just wanted to do something special for their customers. Until their Facebook giveaway for a Milwaukee Heated Jacket was taken advantage of by a scammer.

“Sunday I had a few people reach out to me and say ‘Oh did we do that jacket giveaway already?’ That they thought they had won it because they received messages saying they won the jacket,” said Heather Casey, service manager of J-Goods Plumbing and Heating. “So that’s why when I said ‘No we haven’t done the giveaway yet. It’s still going’ and I started getting copy and paste pictures from people showing the link they were being sent, to claim their prize for this jacket.”

The scammer made a personal profile that looked exactly like J-Goods’ business Facebook page.
This tricked many people into thinking it was J-Goods messaging them.

“They were sending this link out, if people clicked on it it was asking personal information, credit card information, and unfortunately some people did actually fall victim to that and give out their personal and credit card information so. We put a notice out there letting everyone know it was a scam, not to click on any links, we would never ask you for any personal information.”

Here are some ways to recognize and avoid Phishing scams provided by the Michigan State Police:

• Scammers will use social media, email, or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal information. This can include credit card information.
• Phishing emails or messages may look like they are from a business or person you may know or trust.
• The emails or messages may try to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment.

If you believe you’re being scammed, report the profile or post, call your local law enforcement, or file a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission.