Scammers are cloning Facebook accounts and using Facebook messenger to scam other social media users out of money.

Most recently, the Facebook account for Ross Gazette reporter, Aliya Shibli, was cloned, as well as Councillor Chris Bartrum’s. Photos were taken off both of their accounts.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a grant making agency, is committed to suppressing an ongoing scam which was perpetrated through both of these fake accounts. The scam involves someone claiming to be an NEH employee contacting you through Facebook Messenger to tell you that you are “on a list for a grant,” and instructing you to send payment before they will send you the grant funds.

A spokesperson for the NEH said: "If someone purporting to be an NEH employee has contacted you through Facebook, please report the incident to Facebook so that it can remove the fraudulent account. In addition, you may report the incident to NEH’s Office of Inspector General by emailing [email protected]. Please take the necessary precautions to protect yourself."

If you receive a friend request from somebody you know, and you already have that friend on Facebook, double check they have created a new Facebook account before you accept it. Report the account to Facebook and encourage others to do so.Councillor Bartrum said: "Please ignore (or better still report) any friend requests from what looks like me. Thank you."