Windsor is scheduled to host several events over the next few months. The Windsor Harvest Festival is the most popular gathering bringing in over 150 vendors and nearly 30,000 attendants over the Labor Day Weekend. Such events also tend to attract online fraud and scams.
Last week, an individual posted on the town’s Parks and Recreation Facebook page discussion soliciting vendors. Messages from the Town of Windsor will always come from an official social media account, website, newsletters, emails, and numbers identified as the Town of Windsor or Windsor Parks, Recreation & Culture Department.
The information posted on the town’s Facebook page, shown below, did not have the town’s logo, verified icon, phone number, nor additional information identifiable to the town.
There are a few tips offered by the Windsor Police that can help keep people from being scammed on social media. Most important, never share personal bank information, credit card number, nor personal identification information without proper verification. If in doubt, back out.
The best methods:
1: Verified account icon displayed at the end of a profile handle and my even have “verified
2: Account activity: Review the profile engagement with followers and the verified account icon from accounts posting within a discussion. Information from the Town of Windsor posted on its social media accounts have the town’s logo and activity promoting the town.
3: Number of followers: Although number of followers can vary, the recognition of the brand, product, the information posted, and the business can help identify if the channel is official.
Online fraud can happen anytime in different methods—via social media, emails, SMS messages on your mobile devices, fake technical support phone calls and more. If you were a victim of a recent scam involving the Windsor Harvest Festival, contact the Windsor Police Department at 970-674-6400.