While social media is a fantastic way to keep in touch or interact with people, social media scams are everywhere.
Social media scams take many forms, and many are native to one particular platform as Facebook scams, Twitter scams, Instagram scams (separate categories), and more are operating and trying to fleece people of money or use their personal information for nefarious purposes.
Facebook scams include messages from fake profiles, malware hidden in Facebook apps and games that are part of phishing attacks, and classified ad scams in the Facebook Marketplace.
Twitter scams can include emails sent from “Twitter,” and links in messages that are part of phishing attacks.
Multi-Level marketing scams are also common on social media and their empty promises of easy riches.
Social media can be wonderful, but be careful. Keep your eye on this space, and learn about the scams on social media as they emerge.
How the scam works: If you have a small business and use Google Adwords to promote it, you might receive an e-mail (from scammers) informing you that your campaign has stopped running. In order to resume it, you need to log into your Adwords account. The message provides a link to click in order to […]
How the scam works: If you have not yet received an email similar to the one we are about to tell you about, you probably will, so be aware. Scammers hack into email accounts and send a message to all the contacts in the address book: "Hi Dear, just writing to let you know my unexpected […]
How the scam works: Scammers often post links on Facebook or Twitter, using fake images and titles such as: “Girl killed by husband just because she kissed another men”, “Obama punched a guy”, “Girl kills herself after dad yelling at her”, “Surfer attacked by shark”, or “You won’t believe what this guy did after his […]
Cheating Partner Scam: How It Works Imagine this scenario. One day you get a Facebook message, email or phone call from somebody claiming she/he wants to help you. After introducing themselves they say the reason for the call is that your partner (they will give your partner's full real name) is cheating on you. What […]
How the scam works: Scammers find their victims on sites like Facebook, Twitter, eHarmony, Match.com and start an online dating adventure, slowly getting their trust. They pose as soldiers in Iraq and send pictures to their victims, in which they are holding babies or playing with local kids. The pictures really impress the ladies, but […]
How the scam works: The Steroids Scam comes in many different variations, but here are the two most popular ones: Scenario 1. The scammers advertise their products as a “free trial” and require that you pay only for the shipment. What will happen is you will pay the amount and you’ll get nothing – or […]
How the scam works: You've become something of a minor Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube sensation. You've posted a few videos here and there and they're getting thousands of hits. You're even considering YouTube's affiliate program, which pays you a percentage of the ad revenue if you get enough views to your video. To get your […]
How the scam works: You come across an ad that catches your eye, as someone whose teeth have yellowed from years of smoking: “Read this before you think of cleaning your teeth again”. You click the banner and it takes you to a site filled with testimonials and “before and after” shots. You have been […]
How the scam works: Let’s say you have been a long time Conan O’Brien fan. You “like” his Facebook page and follow him on Twitter. One day, you get a message or a letter informing you that you won an invite for two – to attend a free Conan O’Brien show next month, as a […]
How the scam works: Never open a Twitter mention notification (of you) coming from somebody who has a very sexy woman as a profile picture. Since Twitter doesn’t allow users to send direct messages to somebody who is not following them, the scammers tag you in their spamming posts, in order to get your attention. […]
Facebook Video Calling Scam: How It Works Facebook recently launched a new video chat service, called Video Calling, which is powered by Skype. Taking advantage of the hype, scammers came up with a fake video chat application, which is a replica of the official feature. Whenever you try to open the fake application, you […]
How the scam works: You hear about some tragic news and you would like to see the exclusive footage online. Examples? Whitney Houston drowned in her bathtub, Osama Bin Laden’s burial at sea, or Steve Jobs collapsing. The title catches your attention and you are required by scammers to either install software in order to […]
How the scam works: You are tempted to get yourself a great brand name watch you found online, such as a Rolex. It is an amazing deal. You are not sure if this is a scam or not, but decide to purchase it, as it looks good in the pictures and there is a “money […]
Fake Poetry Contests: How The Scam Works Do you think you are good to try out for Poetry Out Loud with your poems? We hope so, but be aware of many fake poetry competitions and contests popping up everywhere this time of the year — especially with the stay at home imposed quarantines — […]
Online Psychic Reading: How the Scam Works (with video below) Are you looking into a psychic reading these days? If yes, be careful about the Online Psychic Reading Scam, including numerologists, astrologers, tarot card reading, and fortune-tellers. Read below and feel free to report the scammers' names at the end of the article, under the […]
How the scam works: With the worldwide spread of the Internet, it is much easier nowadays to find talented people in all industries. Unfortunately, scammers are right on the ball in this aspect, too. It has been reported that several crooks create fake publishing contests, apparently organized by famous companies. One of the examples is […]
How the scam works: Let’s say you are an aspiring writer. Established publishers accept new books only if they are submitted by an agent. Meanwhile, agents don’t take any new writers under their wings unless they have a publishing record. When you approach them with a book, because you are new, most agents might tell […]
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