A couple from Amherstburg, Canada, lose $3,000 (over CFA1,300,000) trying to buy a tractor on Facebook from a scammer who allegedly collected the money through MoneyGram in Togo.

According to CBC News, Eddie and Susan Strickland found the tractor on Facebook Marketplace and thought it would be a great deal, so they didn’t hesitate.

The seller, who claimed to be in Togo, is said to have informed them by email that she was selling a property and needed the money for herself. The tractor was to be shipped to Toronto.

The family will complete a $3,000 transaction through MoneyGram. The receipt contained a code that they would give to the person who delivered the tractor. The code would be used to retrieve the funds.

When the tractor didn’t arrive, the couple became suspicious and contacted MoneyGram, but were told the money had been recovered.

“We’re quite… upset, embarrassed. I thought we did our homework, we looked it all up online,” Susan said. “It was too late. The money had been withdrawn and all we wanted to do was put our heads in a pillow,” says Eddie.

According to the same sources, in a letter to the victims, MoneyGram states that the seller had the code when the money was picked up in Togo on February 28, 2023.

“If an agent is presented with identification that meets our photographic requirements and the correct reference number is provided, MoneyGram is contractually bound to release the funds,” MoneyGram’s settlement assurance department wrote.

Fraudsters have been on the rise in Togo for some time, and among those whom the police are able to arrest are not only nationals but also a large number of other West African nationals.