- March 4, 2025
A 67-year-old Palm Coast woman was scammed out of $700 on Facebook after she was duped into thinking she could win big, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office report.
Pamela Melhorn, of Palm Coast, told Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies on June 25 that she was directed by a friend via Facebook chat to contact an account with the name Alysa Erichs to receive instructions on how to potentially win money from a cash giveaway.
Melhorn told deputies she was randomly selected and instructed to wire $700 via Western Union to a Marsha Ward, in Ypsilanti, Mich., as payment for delivery and case file fees. After she was sent that money, she was told she would be awarded $50,000, according to the report.
Melhorn told deputies she then went to Winn-Dixie and sent three payments ($200, $250 and $250) to Marsha Ward.
When Melhorn returned home, she sent the receipt numbers and to Erichs, who then told her that the UPS truck carrying her transfer was involved in a crash and that Melhorn needed to send an additional $3,000, the report states.
At that time, Melhorn stopped communication with Erichs and contacted the Sheriff’s Office.
Erichs' profile was determined to be fake, according to the report.
