How to Stay Away from Social Media Scams

 

Malicious hackers constantly devise new schemes to defraud unwary social media users, frequently aiming to acquire account login passwords, private data, or bank and credit card information.

The most prevalent Facebook and Instagram scams of 2023 are described, along with advice on how to prevent them, by cybersecurity expert Liz Wegerer of VPNOverview.com.

Facebook Scams

The most widely used social media platform in the world is Facebook, where con artists frequently prey on unwary users. Due to the high number of users, fraudsters have access to a sizable population of prospective victims. Here are some of the methods they use most frequently:

Hacking con games

shady links in emails or direct messages that download malware or record users' credentials on fake websites.

Romance:

Friend requests and direct communications that try to arouse romantic interest in order to defraud the victim of their money.

Cash awards or employment offers:

claims intended to trick the victim into giving up confidential information or money, such as "You've won!" scams.

Games and quizzes:

designed to elicit personal information from the respondent by using the type of data that would be used to create a password or provide the response to a security question for an online account.

Charitable requests

Using websites like GoFundMe, one can create fictitious charities to solicit donations during a catastrophe.

Instagram phishing

Instagram is the fourth most famous social media network in the world, with more than one billion users each month. Cybercriminals are aware of this and have several strategies to access your account and take your confidential data. These consist of:

False business proposals

Cheats make extravagant returns on modest investments.

False proposals for brand collaborations:

When you promote their products, con artists will promise to pay you, but when you give them your financial information, they will steal it.

Selling comments and followers:

Ask you to send a small donation in return for like or follow packages, but when you send financial information, your personal information is stolen.

Here's how to stay clear of them on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites.

Set Your Privacy Preferences to Lockdown

By default, your Instagram is set to "public," which means that anyone can view your photos. Set your account to "private" so that only followers you've given permission for can see your tweets, leave comments, and DM you. While you can never conceal your profile or cover photos on Facebook, you can almost completely hide everything else from people who aren't on your friends list by using your settings.

2FA and strong passwords

Using strong passwords and turning on two-factor authentication is one of the simplest methods to stop unauthorized logins to your accounts (2FA). With this in place, anyone attempting to log in from an unrecognized device or location will now also need to input a one-time code in addition to the username and password that were sent to their phone.

Maintain an eye on outside apps

You have probably linked your Instagram account to a number of external programmes over time. Regularly check these programmes to make sure no suspicious connections have been made, and remove any you no longer use or don't know.

Purchase Only from Verified Accounts

Make sure the account you are working with is verified before making a purchase on social media. On Facebook and Instagram, every trustworthy company will typically have a blue circle next to their name to indicate that they have been verified.

Look for Accounts in Your Name Frequently

Get in the practise of frequently searching Facebook and Instagram for your name to prevent harm from someone cloning your accounts and using these fake accounts maliciously. This is a quick and simple method to spot fake accounts and report them.

Refuse to Friend People You Don't Know

Make it a practise to refuse friend requests from people you don't know. The likelihood that you will be approached with a scam increases with the number of acquaintances you have who you do not know.

Avoid clicking on shady links or unsolicited emails.

Avoid clicking on unwanted videos or links, whether they are contained in phishing emails or private messages from friends. Before clicking, double-check with your acquaintance if you believe they have sent you something. Particularly when what they sent you contains damaging information about you or contains the phrase "OMG! Who is this? or "Have you seen this yet? ".