social media is no doubt a positive addition to the great things technology has brought us. It has helped us in communicating, and having fun, but there are a lot of bad people who lurk behind different social media profiles looking to scam and defraud unsuspecting people. Some of us are already aware of some of the tactics used by these fraudsters, but there are a lot more people who are unaware of some of their techniques. So here’s a quick summary of some of the common ways social media fraudsters operate.
ROMANCE
This is like the easiest and most popular tactic used by scammers and surprisingly people fall for it every day, especially ladies. Because women are mostly emotional, anyone can just sweet talk some of them into parting with money once they notice the lady is desperate and in need of love and attention. That doesn’t mean guys don’t fall either. Scammers now use female profile pictures to fool guys as well and get money from them. Some scammers are well organised and they have females working for them, and answering the phones to keep their operation ‘real’.
IDENTITY THEFT
Scammers are smart. They can easily steal the identity of someone close to you and start sending you “convincing” private messages and you think you’re dealing with the right person. But before you realise it, you would have revealed your personal details to them.
ASKING FOR HELP
Humans are emotional and will always help each other. It’s very good to help others but the sad irony is, scammers use this method a lot especially on social media. They tell touching stories that may be nothing more than a well garnished lie just to play with your emotions get you to part with your money. It is sad, but this tactic is very common.
PHISHING
They send e-mails and more e-mails to remind you that your subscription will soon expire. This seems obvious, but with more and more companies offering real support on social media, it is near impossible that a bank or reputable organisation would ask you for your account number or other private information in social media. Do not fall for fraudsters hiding behind a laptop (or phone)!
MONEY LAUNDERING
Scammers are scammers because they’re good at tricking people. People have gotten into trouble by just helping others receiving money and withdrawing it for them, or allowing someone transfer money into their accounts. They often come up with different stories including that they’ve “exceeded” their withdrawal limit or their “wife is in labour” and they can’t afford to wait on the line. The risky thing about this is that you don’t even know if the money is being transferred with a stolen ATM card, etc. In which case the bank could automatically block your account and send out an alert on you, and the moment you walk into the bank to make a complaint, you get arrested and land in jail.
Comments