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Low reported severity Investigation Opened

Winnipeg man says Meta AI told him a fake Facebook support number was legitimate, and scammers he then called took over his accounts

A Winnipeg man told CBC that in spring 2024, after a problem moving his Facebook account to a new phone, his wife found what looked like a Facebook customer support number online, and before calling it he asked the Meta AI search tool in Facebook Messenger whether it was legitimate. According to his account and a screenshot he gave CBC, Meta AI answered that the number was "indeed a legitimate Facebook support number". Facebook has no phone support line. When he called, the person on the line obtained his account details, opened his Facebook account and had him install an app giving access to his phone; during the call someone used his PayPal account to buy a $500 Apple gift card and tried to buy bitcoin, which his bank refused. He cancelled cards, locked bank accounts, filed fraud and police reports, and PayPal reversed the $500 charge. Meta told CBC that Meta AI can sometimes produce inaccurate information and that its own searches gave different results. Winnipeg police said they had an active investigation.

AI system
Meta AI
Occurred
Apr 2024
Reported
31 May 2024
Event location
Canada
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Financial LossOther Material Harm
Whose AI use
Their own AI use
Setting
Finance · Privacy · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
7 claims: 7 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Meta AI, the AI search tool in Facebook Messenger (Llama 3, according to a computer scientist quoted by CBC)

Reported harm

According to the man, after Meta AI confirmed the scam number he called it; the caller took over his Facebook account, a $500 Apple gift card was bought through his PayPal account (PayPal later reversed it) and a bitcoin purchase was attempted, and he had to cancel cards, lock accounts and file fraud reports. CBC describes him as scammed out of hundreds of dollars.

Outcome

Unknown

Winnipeg police told CBC on 31 May 2024 that they had an active investigation and had forwarded the case to the financial crimes unit. PayPal reversed the $500 charge. Meta said Meta AI can produce inaccurate information; he said Meta had not answered his complaint. No later outcome is reported.

What remains unknown

  • The exact date of the Meta AI exchange and the call; CBC says the problem began after he got a new phone in April 2024.
  • Whether any money remained lost after PayPal reversed the $500 charge.
  • The outcome of the Winnipeg police investigation and whether Meta answered his complaint.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The man says he asked Meta AI in Facebook Messenger whether the number was legitimate and that it answered the number was "indeed a legitimate Facebook support number"; CBC published his screenshot of that answer. He says he called the number because of that answer, and the caller then took over his Facebook account and his PayPal account was used. Meta said Meta AI can produce inaccurate information and that its own later searches gave different results; no one independently reproduced his exchange.

7 claims: 7 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported The man says he asked the Meta AI search tool in Facebook Messenger whether a number his wife had found online was Facebook's support line, and Meta AI answered that it was a legitimate Facebook support number.

Causal attribution. The man's account, supported by the screenshot he gave CBC; Meta did not dispute that he received the answer but said its own searches gave different results.

  • cbc.ca(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'did a search in Facebook Messenger to find out whether it was legitimate.'; 'was "indeed a legitimate Facebook support number."'; 'took this screen capture of his message from Meta AI, after he did a search to confirm the supposed tech support number.'
Reported When he called, the person on the line obtained his account details, opened his Facebook account and had him install an app giving access to his phone.

Causal attribution. The man's account to CBC.

  • cbc.ca(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'She then opened his Facebook account.'; 'he had to give her access to his phone through an app she had him download'
Reported During the call someone used his PayPal account to buy a $500 Apple gift card and tried to buy bitcoin, which his bank refused; PayPal later reversed the $500 charge.

Causal attribution. The man's account; the connection to the call is his.

  • cbc.ca(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'someone also accessed his PayPal account and used it to buy a $500 Apple gift card'; 'The person on the call also tried to buy bitcoin'; 'but thankfully his bank refused that attempted purchase.'; 'He was pleased when PayPal agreed to reverse the $500 charge against his account.'
Reported He cancelled credit cards, locked bank accounts and filed fraud complaints with PayPal, Visa, the police, the credit bureaus and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Causal attribution. The man's account to CBC.

  • cbc.ca(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'cancelled credit cards and locked his bank accounts. He filed fraud complaints with PayPal and Visa, a police report, and alerts with the credit bureaus Equifax and TransUnion.'
Reported Meta told CBC that Meta AI can sometimes produce inaccurate information and that its own searches with Meta AI gave different results from his.

Causal attribution. Meta's emailed statement as reported by CBC.

  • cbc.ca(opens in new tab) supports · English
    '"Meta AI can sometimes produce inaccurate information, and we are continually working to make it better."'; 'the results were different, according to Meta's spokesperson.'
Reported Winnipeg police told CBC they had an active investigation and had forwarded the case to the financial crimes unit.

Causal attribution. The police spokesperson's statement as reported by CBC.

  • cbc.ca(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson told CBC they have an active investigation open, and the case has been forwarded to the financial crimes unit.'
Reported Facebook has no customer support phone number, and when CBC called the number the man had used, a person claimed to be Facebook customer service.

Causal attribution. CBC's own reporting and test call.

  • cbc.ca(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'What he didn't know at the time is there is no phone number for Facebook customer support.'; '"Yeah, this is Facebook customer service."'

Sources

1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-11-02 (HTTP 200, full article); no translation and no human reviewer. CBC interviewed the man, published his screenshot of the Meta AI answer, called the number itself and obtained statements from Meta and Winnipeg police. Applies to s1.

Event countries: Canada. Affected-person countries: Canada. Court countries: Unknown.

CBC Manitoba reports a Winnipeg man who made the call and the Winnipeg Police Service investigation; no court was involved.

Reviewed for publication 2026-11-02: Published as a concrete adverse experience after a generative assistant's answer: the man's account, with a screenshot published by CBC, that Meta AI confirmed a scam support number as legitimate, followed by an account takeover and a fraudulent PayPal charge; Meta's and the police's statements are recorded.

People described

A Winnipeg man who asked Meta AI whether a phone number was Facebook's support line and then called it

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed

One person: the man who asked Meta AI and called the number. His wife found the number but no harm to her is reported.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#scam-support-number#account-takeover#messenger-assistant#fraud-report

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Winnipeg man says Meta AI told him a fake Facebook support number was legitimate, and scammers he then called took over his accounts. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-winnipeg-man-says-meta-ai-told-him-fake-facebook-support-number-was-legitimate-then-scammers-took-over-accounts

BibTeX

@misc{2024_winnipeg_man_says_meta_ai_told_him_fake_facebook_support_number_was_legitimate_then_scammers_took_over_accounts,
  title = {Winnipeg man says Meta AI told him a fake Facebook support number was legitimate, and scammers he then called took over his accounts},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-winnipeg-man-says-meta-ai-told-him-fake-facebook-support-number-was-legitimate-then-scammers-took-over-accounts}
}

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