Don’t be an easy target on social media! Learn How to spot and avoid Social Media Scams

Social media and scams:

Social media fraud is fraud conducted through social media websites. While social media's primary functions include sharing, learning, interacting, and marketing, its inherent popularity has made it a prime hunting ground for scammers. One out of four scam victims claim the scam started with a social media direct message (DM), an ad, or a social media post.

How to quickly identify a scammer on social media:

• A random / unsolicited direct messages (DMs) message with a link (to trick you into visiting a fake / phishing websites or downloading a malware on your device)
• The messages include a lot of grammar and spelling errors
• A brand-new social media profile with little content or few friends
• The profile belongs to someone, you are already connected as a friend
• Request to send money online for an emergency or urgent purpose
• Promise of abnormally high returns on investment with them
• Posts or ads promoting a deal or sale that seem too good to be true
• High paying job offers without need for commensurate qualification or experience
• The person insists on taking the conversation off social media & asks you to call / text them

Top social media scams:

• Investment returns and cryptocurrency scams
• Job scams on social media
• Gift offers, Lottery, Sweepstakes, and Giveaway scams
• Authentication code (OTP / password) scams
• Social media ads promoting fake deals or fake online sites

How To Stay Safe and Avoid social media scams:

• Never respond or click on pop-up messages, calls or links from unknown sources.
• Don’t give out your personal or confidential banking information.
• Adjust your social media privacy settings to ensure your posts are not visible to strangers.
• Don’t respond to strangers messaging you on social media.
• Create strong, unique passwords for each of your social media accounts.
• Activate two-factor authentication (2FA) for your accounts.
• If you suspect a friend’s account or profile has been hacked, contact them directly through trusted channels (such as their phone number).
• Never send money to someone you’ve only met on social media.