Using Facebook and other social networking websites can be a fantastic way to stay in contact with friends and relatives, but it also serves as a great place for scammers to target you online, as local resident Cynthia Cannon found out this past week.

“I had gotten on the internet on my phone, to enter into the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. Then I started getting e-mail on my Facebook saying I had won, but then I had them asking me to go to Walmart and purchase a $400 gift card. That’s what I knew that if you’ve got to spend money, to get money, the people contacting me were not from Publishers Clearing House.”

Online scams can be found all over the Internet, but Facebook is especially vulnerable to them because of all the personal information people can see.

Cannon says this scammer found out her phone number from the social networking website, and began to call and leave voicemails for her. Cynthia says she was able to avoid being a victim by asking questions and staying ahead of the curve.

“Always check with somebody before you act,” she says. If you can get as much information from the person contacting you, get it. That way you’ve got something to use to protect yourself. If you have to spend money, to make money, you haven’t won anything.”