Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  And about maybe the end of July or the beginner of August. This organization told me I was a winner of a $150, 000 , the organization name is. Trust community foundation It said that it was a government organization. The gentleman would. Message me through messenger and ask for contact information and told me that I will received the money. So he told me all I had to pay was $300 so they can send the money to me through *****. Then I noticed he started sending me text telling me that it was complications something happened to the ***** truck that the check could not be delivered. He asking me that I had to send another $500. To make sure I get my money at the date that he said But all in all I sent altogether one thousand three hundred dollars Then I noticed that my ******** page was hacked By the same people because I was looking and working on getting information to find who they were . And I had no way to get back in contact with them to get my money back. I didn't receive nothing. I have receipts copy of the gift cards that all which total up to thirteen hundred dollars All I want is to get my thirteen hundred dollars back that's all And I also have all copies of the communication with this person going back-and-forth with text. Hopefully I can get my money back with you guys help. Thank you so much. No one deserves to be ripped off like that

  Business response

  03/24/2023

  This individual has been the victim of scammers using our community foundation's good name to do harm.  Our foundation is COMMUNITY TRUST FOUNDATION. We grant to nonprofits in our geographical area of Allegany & Garrett Counties in Maryland and Mineral County in West Virginia. We do not grant to individuals nor do we ask for money in order to receive grants.   The scammers have used different versions of our name, even stolen pictures from our social media and website to use on false profiles. I'm sure ***** has probably been one of the many calls we have received in which we try to explain this bizarre scam.  Many times they do not believe us because of the lies they have been told by the imposters. Below is a summary of the history of our battles with these scammers and our attempts to shut them down.  

   

  In late 2017 CTF began receiving ******** messages and calls requesting information about the CTF grant process .The callers suggested that “friends” had told them they were on a list and would qualify . Beginning in 2018 the messages and calls increased and were coming from all over the country and different parts of the world .
  
  CTF created a standard message to reply to all inquiries explaining that grants were only available to non-profits in Allegany and Garrett counties in Maryland and Mineral County , West Virginia . The message also stated that CTF believed that its identity was being used by others . CTF also added a message to ******** , the CTF website and its voicemail .
  
  It was becoming clear that someone was using peoples ******** Messenger and accompanying ‘friends’ list . They would apparently impersonate the ******** Messenger person and advise the ‘friend’ that they had received a grant from CTF and encourage the friend to apply as they could get one too . They were then instructed to text a certain number for all communications .
  
  When CTF received calls the caller was advised to call their ‘friend’ who was allegedly sending the message and inform the friend that his or her ******** account had been breached and to file a complaint with Facebook . One victim contacted a fraud expert and was advised to file a report with the FBI online at their internet crime complaint center at ********** . CTF then began sharing the FBI information as well .
  
  Each person who called CTF would share the names and phone numbers of the people who contacted them to apply for a grant but the names and numbers were always different . CTF found profiles on ******** of people claiming to work for CTF . CTF would then ‘screenshot’ the profile and send it to the caller along with their warning .
  
  CTF also sought intervention through the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Division . Unfortunately , at that time , the Division was dealing with a scam that had affected their offices . Everything was automated and all calls made and messages left were unreturned over a period of weeks .
  
  Until being replaced with the Covid message, the scam warning message was on the CTF website’s landing page as well as on the news section of the website and is posted on the CTF feed quarterly.

  In 2020 we pursued the assistance of the Maryland Attorney General's office to deal with this scam.  Below is the response our legal counsel received from their office. 

  From: ********* ***** *************************** 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2020 1:46 PM
  To: **** ***** ********************
  Subject: Community Trust Foundation
  
  I work with ***** ******* in the Office of the Attorney General who advised of the problems that the foundation has had with individuals scamming others into believe that a grant has been awarded by your office when it has not.  We wanted to let you know that our office is going to be issuing a Consumer Alert to advise consumers about the scam to hopefully ensure that less people become victims.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at ###-###-####. 
  
  Karen ** ********
  Assistant Attorney General
  Director, Mediation Unit
  Consumer Protection Division
  200 St. Paul Place
  Baltimore, MD  21202
  ###-###-####
  Fax:  ###-###-####

   

  Here are three messages we have used to warn others about the scam:
  
  Facebook Message
  The Community Trust Foundation continues to receive calls and other notifications regarding a scam that is using a version of our foundation’s name and claiming to have large amounts of money to give out to individuals. Often the contact has occurred through fake ******** profiles that have been hijacked and duplicated from your personal friend's list so that the scam seems legitimate. Others have been contacted via text if their phone is attached to their ******** profile. Please be aware that CTF does NOT grant money to individuals, this is a wide-spread scam.
  To learn more about CTF go to www.ctfinc.org
  Community Trust Foundation connects philanthropy for community good by working with nonprofits and other organizations in Allegany and Garrett Counties in Maryland and Mineral County in West Virginia.
  Please share this with your friends. Thank you.
  
  Voicemail for CTF Phone:  
  You have reached Community Trust Foundation at 112 Baltimore Street, 2nd floor of the Gateway Center in Cumberland, MD.  We are a nonprofit organization working to build stronger more vibrant communities in our region of Allegany & Garrett counties in Maryland and Mineral County in WV.  Please leave your message including the date and time of your call and we will respond in the most timely manner.  Our office hours are Tues, Wed, thurs from 9-4. 
  If you have been contacted through social media about receiving financial assistance from Community Trust Foundation for personal use, please know that it is a scam.  We do not grant money to individuals or organizations outside of our immediate region.  Please do not share any personal information or send them money.  
  
  Message from Fraud Expert
  Fraud Expert “I'm sorry to hear that you fell for the ******** impostor scam. You dealt with hackers who got into your friend's ******** account, set up a clone profile and then reached out to all of your friend's ******** contact to say, "I got my grant. Here's how you can get yours." We deal a lot with this scam, unfortunately.
  
  This is some kind of money laundering operation, which is why your bank shut your account down to prevent further issues. It's run from outside of the country, whether really from New Zealand or not, who can really say. The Foundation is not going to be real. The people in the US you sent money to are likely real, on the other hand. They may be actively colluding with the scammer, or they may be innocent scam victims much like yourself. But it gives the authorities a place to start. Contact the FBI online at their Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov There they work with Interpol and many other cooperating agencies worldwide. The information the FBI amasses on that site gets disseminated all over the globe to help stop these frauds.
  
  Beyond reporting the fraud to Facebook, to the police, to the FBI, to the Federal Trade Commission at (www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov)  or FBI (www.ic3.gov/complaint), most of what's left to do is in the nature of warning others.
  
  You can post about this Trust Community agency and tell your story anonymously on sites like Ripoffreports.com, scambook.com, scamdex.com and any sites along those lines that you can find.
  
  Note that when you're the victim of a crime, your unreimbursed losses due to that crime are tax deductible. So even if the authorities do nothing for you, you can get something back by way of a deduction when you file your taxes for the current  tax year.” 

   

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩