NANAIMO — A social media scam promising massive discounts on transit in the region is continuing, despite best efforts from operators.
Paid social media advertisements have continued on platforms including Facebook and Instagram over several weeks, promoting “six months of unlimited travel in Nanaimo and surrounding areas” for $3.75.
The scam, which as hit other B.C. communities, claims the promotion is in honour of BC Transit’s 40th anniversary, which took place in 2023.
“BC Transit does not sell a Umo products on social media,” spokesperson Jamie Weiss told NanaimoNewsNOW. “We remind people to never click on any link you receive that you don’t trust and don’t provide your personal or credit card information to an unsecured site.”
The page linked to the advertisements contains just a single post, littered with comments from fake or newly setup accounts. (Facebook Screenshots)Umo passes are available through the BC Transit website, or at selected retail locations.
The ads of Facebook connect to a website which, on Monday, April 28, was not working, as well as a Facebook page titled “Public transport in Nanaimo”.
It has no affiliation with either BC Transit or the Regional District of Nanaimo.
One post, published Sunday, April 27, was on the page with two dozen comments and a half-dozen shares, however upon closer inspection the comments also appeared to be fake.
None of the supposed commenters were local, with locations in their profiles primarily from the U.K., and many of the accounts containing nothing more than a profile picture.
Of all the comments Monday morning, none were from accounts which did not appear to be fake. (Facebook Screenshots)Both BC Transit and the RDN have issued public alerts about the scam.
They’ve also been trying to alert social media companies about the fraudulent posts, but Weiss said so far the effectiveness of reporting has been minimal.
“Our organization has been reporting this to the social media platforms repeatedly over a long period of time, and we encourage customers if they see this as well, please report it. We’re hoping that just by number of volume of reports that will maybe get some more action on it.”
Weiss added there’s been no reports to BC Transit about people falling for the scam, but multiple reports about its existence have come in.
“It’s the worst possible thing, when somebody has their identity stolen or scammed like this, and from our organization’s perspective we would never want it to be using BC Transit as a method to accomplish that kind of scam.”
BC Transit advises riders to only purchase Umo passes through the BC Transit website, or from verified retail distributors on central Vancouver Island.
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