Jensen Beach woman loses $800 to Elon Musk impersonation scam on Facebook

Summary

A woman in Jensen Beach, Florida, was scammed out of $800 after a scammer impersonated Elon Musk on Facebook, claiming she had won a Tesla and $250,000 in cash. The scammer convinced her to send Apple Gift Cards to cover "delivery fees" and later claimed a truck had broken down, prompting her to send more money before realizing the scam. The scam worked by using a fake Facebook profile with Musk’s name and photo, followed by a private message offering a prize in exchange for gift cards. The scammer used flattery, fake urgency, and a staged delivery issue to pressure the victim into sending multiple gift cards. Gift cards were used because they are untraceable and difficult to recover once the codes are shared. The victim eventually blocked the scammer after realizing the story was a setup, but the money was already lost.