Social media allows millions of people to communicate with friends, family and businesses, but it has also become a favorite outlet for scammers to reach a broad audience. While these platforms try to prevent bad actors from using them maliciously, there are countless challenges to identifying scammers and restricting their access. The best defense against falling victim to fraud and scams on social media interactions is to recognize the schemes being attempted on these sites.
LinkedIn: With this site’s focus on business networking, fraud on this platform typically leverages professional messaging, employment opportunities, influencer marketing and impersonation. Scammers know that having a LinkedIn profile enhances their credibility and will often create an account to match their claims of industry expertise.
This includes false job histories with well-known companies, fake degrees or credentials, and other details designed to make them appear like experts in their field. This tactic is frequently used with cryptocurrency and investment scams to help the scammer seem like a legitimate, successful trader.
Another popular tactic is the use of fraudulent employment postings or positions. Users should also watch for fraudulent professional development courses, resume writing services, unrecognized industry certificates or credentials, and ineffective recruitment agencies. Report LinkedIn scams to the platform to help prevent these tactics from being used.
Facebook (Meta): Scammers turn to Facebook to carry out a range of schemes, including fraudulent purchases on Facebook Marketplace or community buy-and-sell groups and compromised user accounts used to dupe each victim’s unsuspecting friends and family. When an account is compromised, a scammer may use it to ask Facebook friends for money due to a fabricated emergency, provide a fake investment opportunity or have them follow a link that will compromise their own accounts.
Facebook users are also encouraged to be mindful of the information they provide while answering popular social media quizzes and consider what the company creating the quiz does with the information provided. Be especially cautious of any links that are offered to gain results from a quiz. Report Facebook scams to the platform to help prevent these tactics from being used.
Instagram: Scammers often use Instagram to showcase fabricated projects or results. For example, unethical contractors might steal photos of projects completed by reputable businesses and pass them off as their own in hopes of gaining customers. Similarly, impostors of fitness and health influencers might show before and after pictures of people who supposedly benefited from a promoted product or program. Also, these health products and programs can be subscription-based services that mislead consumers on the fitness results they can expect, total costs or additional fees for canceling a subscription.
Users should also be wary of romance scams originating from an Instagram account, especially if the romantic interest directs the user to an investment or cryptocurrency opportunity. A romance scammer may often spend weeks or months talking with a potential target to build trust before enacting their scheme, which is usually a fake emergency. Report Instagram scams to the platform to help prevent these tactics from being used.
TikTok: Due to its extreme popularity among younger audiences, scammers use TikTok to position themselves as experts in emerging markets, enticing young adults. This platform is also commonly used in online purchase scams by touting benefits and uses of products that aren’t delivered after a purchase is made. Scammers also create engaging and visually appealing promotional material to try to lure users to an unsecured online marketplace where they may unknowingly download spyware or malware to a site visitor’s device in hopes of compromising their accounts and information.
Additionally, TikTok scammers often attempt to distinguish themselves as online influencers by posting updates showing bundles of cash they claim to have made by following their system — particularly regarding investments and cryptocurrencies. Other issues include the same health and fitness program schemes found on Instagram, using deep-fake technology to manufacture endorsements. Report TikTok scams to the platform to help prevent these tactics from being used.
X: Impersonation is one of the most common tactics used on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), with a greater emphasis on approaches that are more custom-made for the victim than on other platforms. Scammers take notice of the types of conversations a target has on X and use that information to promote various questionable opportunities or products that seem to appeal to that person.
Often, people turn to X when they want their voice to be heard, and scammers often focus on this by directing victims to a website that appears to be a survey. The website and survey are parts of a sophisticated phishing scam, and the personal information provided can give the answers to an account’s security questions or place the user at an increased risk of experiencing identity theft. Report X scams to the platform to help prevent these tactics from being used.
Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to avoid scams on social media:
Be wary of impersonation and compromised accounts. Any account can become compromised and used to disguise a scammer, including businesses. If receiving a private message from a social media friend that includes a link, take a moment to think before immediately clicking on it. How well do you know this person, and does the message seem out of character? Is it more probable that this is an impostor? Trust in your intuition, and if something doesn’t seem right, verify directly with the friend or business through another contact method that the message came from them. Read more on impostor scams.
Shop safely online. Online purchase scams are the riskiest scam encountered by consumers, and social media is a prime location for scammers to reach the public. Be wary of too-good-to-be-true deals, especially for name-brand products where the retailer claims they can only accept payment through gift cards, a wire transfer or an unprotected mobile app transaction.
BBB recommends using a credit card for all online purchases since it is often easier to dispute or remove charges for products that are not received than other payment methods. Be careful of inputting bank account information on any website that is not secure.
Set your profile to private. Scammers can use open-source information to narrow down answers to security questions, impersonate family members and customize outreach efforts to their victim’s interests. Making your profile private can prevent this information from being readily available and can protect your identity, and that of your family members, from being compromised.
Be mindful of what you share. Social media is a great way to provide friends and family with life updates, but oversharing information can have negative consequences, especially when provided in public groups. For example, a common security question is “What was your first job?” You may accidentally answer this in a social media post, which a scammer can find if they review your posts.
Additionally, while you may be excited about the weeklong family vacation you are about to go on, posting about it lets everyone know that your house will be empty for a week, and scammers may decide to use your address for various schemes while you are gone.
For more information, please visit BBB’s social media scams resource hub to get more insight about how to identify and avoid these and other scam tactics.
Michele Mason is president of the Better Business Bureau in Chattanooga.
Staff photo / Chattanooga Better Business Bureau President Michele Mason