Social media should be a place for friends, fun, and sharing pictures with family…However, some folks spend their time crafting social media scams.
Unfortunately, thousands upon thousands of people fall victim to them each year. Don’t worry! With some smart suggestions and a careful eye, you can do your best to not be one of those included in that statistic.
There is a whole list of the different types of social media scams. They range from people claiming they’re “stuck” in a different country and need your money, to fake “notifications” that your social media account has been canceled. There are scammers that even try to prey on people looking for healthcare services or resources such as Medicare and social security. Not to mention, the scammers that try to prey on your pocketbook. If an ad says you’ve won a free gift card or a lottery, think about this: Did you enter the lottery? If the answer is “no,” I’d beware. Also, is the advertisement or message asking you personal banking details? Yeah, definitely a red flag.
This is one I’ve seen before. Someone messages you and asks you if you are in a certain picture and there’s a link below it. If a link looks suspicious, do not click! If you click on a suspicious link, the scammers could get your private account information and do who knows what with it!
If something looks suspicious, it may be! It’s less time consuming to be cautious before you click than to have to message Facebook your birth certificate and proof of ID to have your account unlocked. Not that I know that from experience or anything. 😉