Introduction
Social media can be a great way to connect with friends, family, and various communities. It is the digital channel that eases the creation and sharing of information, interests, ideas, and other forms of expression. But due to the use of Social media, scammers are also increasingly active on this platform to steal money. According to the report by FTC, more than one person out of four reported that they had been scammed or lost money on social media platforms in 2021. Social Media is an easy platform for scammers to steal money from visitors. There are many types of social media scams in which we discussed some of them.
Types of Social media scams are:
- Free Gift Card scam: There are some posts or ads that claim that they give you free gift cards or vouchers to popular stores and announce that you have won the lottery. They ask you to open the lottery and provide all the details for claiming the award. The information they ask for could include your phone number, account details, etc. Once you provide all the details, scammers steal all your money from your account.
- Gossip scam: Some posts present on social media like click on this page and know the secrets about Michael Jackson’s death. When someone clicks on these posts, they are taken to a page that tells them to download an application. Never trust these posts, instead of downloading, stay away from them. It is a virus or other malware.
- Catfishing: With the use of social media people can find their love and make and build relationships. According to the report, one out of six relationships begins online. Scammers take advantage of people who are searching for a platform for love. They create a fake identity and make a relationship with innocent people and after that, they make money from them. This type of online harassment scam is called Catfishing.
- Account canceled scam:Through social media like Facebook, you got a mail or message that your account will be blocked or suspended if you have not taken any action. Scammers share a link and ask you to log in via link. If you logged in to your account with the link they provide that means all your details are automatically shared with the scammers.
How to avoid Social Media scams?
- Set a limit on social media channels that who can see your post or information. Check all the privacy policies of a platform before making an account on them.
- Do not follow or share personal information with unknown people or a community group.
- If your friend or relative messages you for help to need money, please confirm with the phone call. Some scammers hack the user’s account and do scams with the user’s account.
- If someone wants to make a friendship or relationship through social media platforms, be alert that they are scam brokers and do romance scams. Never trust those peoples who are in hurry to make friends.