Social media scams
Social media scams are becoming more common as these large platforms give scammers access to millions of people. Scammers set up fake profiles on social media, messaging platforms and apps. They may pretend to be an organisation or a person in order to gain your trust. They can also pay to advertise, so that their fake profile reaches more people.
There are many types of social media scams, some of these are outlined below.
Online marketplace scams
Online marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace or Done Deal, let users buy and sell goods. Most online marketplace users are genuine people selling legitimate items, but scammers can also pose as customers and sellers.
The golden rule of shopping safely on online marketplaces is that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is! If you’re buying an item, don’t hand over any money unless you are sure the item is legitimate. If you’re selling an item, don’t click any link a buyer sends you and be careful not to send the buyer details that could give them access to any of your bank accounts.
Example
John advertises his dining room table and chairs for sale online. He is contacted by an interested buyer. When paying, the buyer “accidentally” pays John too much for the table and chairs and asks him to refund the difference. But the buyer has used a bogus payment method and the money never arrives in John’s account, potentially leaving him out of pocket for the price of the table and chairs as well as the extra money he paid back. Protect yourself by always waiting for money to clear in your account, and use the platform’s payment service. A buyer or seller trying to move you off the platform to another payment method is a red flag.
'Help I'm in trouble!' scams
This is when scammers pretend to be a family member or friend contacting you on social media or a messaging app to say they have an emergency and need money. They may say their phone has been stolen or broken, or they need to pay an urgent bill.
Protect yourself by always checking with the person using contact details you already have for them, to make sure you are talking to your family member. Don’t be put under pressure to send money. Scammers will always try to get you to act quickly, without thinking.
Bait and switch scams
Posts you see on social media may not always be what they seem. You may see a post about a missing pet from someone you don’t know, for example, and you share it. Once it has been shared with your friends, the post is edited to something different, such as a fake ad containing a malicious link. Your friends on social media will presume you genuinely sent it and may fall for the scam.
Scammers also leave dodgy links on trending or popular posts in the hope that many people who see the post will click on the link, leading to a phishing website designed to steal your information.
Job scams
Working from home is attractive to people for many reasons. Scammers take advantage of this by offering highly attractive positions which don’t exist. This kind of scam targets social media users by advertising fake jobs which require you to undertake some form of training first. Payment is requested upfront for training that does not exist.
When clicking on a job link, watch out for websites that appear different to the original job posting. You should also research the company yourself to see if it is genuine.
Customer service scams
A trend on the social media platform X (Twitter) is the ‘blue tick’ scam. Anyone who pays a monthly subscription can get a blue ‘tick’ added to their account without having to prove who they are. Previously, this blue check indicated a verified company or account.
Scammers are taking advantage by posing as customer care agents from genuine companies. Displaying this blue tick can fool people into believing they are legitimate. They target customer complaints tagged online by contacting the person directly pretending to represent the organisation involved and phishing for personal information.
Fake competition scams
Competition scams take advantage of people’s desire to win big prizes or cash. Scammers trick you into thinking you have won a prize in a competition. Typically, in a competition or lottery that you did not enter. These scams usually work by getting you to pay money so you can claim your winnings.
Sometimes, scammers will advertise competitions through posts in your social media feed. They promise you the chance of winning if you engage with the post. Again, the scammers will ask you to pay a ‘fee’ to claim your free prize and provide your bank or credit card details.
Always stop and think before responding to a message saying you’ve won a prize. If you can’t remember entering, don’t respond. If you do remember entering, make sure the person contacting you is genuine. Never give out your card details or pay any money to get your prize.
Example
Mary sees a post on a popular social media platform offering people the chance to win a holiday in the Canaries. She tags her friend Helen to enter and thinks no more of it. To her delight, Mary then gets an email saying “congratulations, you’ve won an all-expenses paid holiday to the sun”. The competition organisers tell Mary she needs to pay a ‘fee’ to claim her travel prize and they ask for her passport. Mary gets suspicious and contacts the travel company claiming to be behind the prize. They tell her they have nothing to do with it and that no such prize exists. Knowing the competition is a scam, she blocks and reports the fake profile.
Social media ads for fake online shops
It’s easy to get taken in by discounts you see in your social media feed. Scammers often create profiles linking to fake online shops set up to look like local shops. Often these shops do not exist outside of the internet and are not based in Ireland.
Posts from these scammers are paid for, or ‘sponsored’, so they appear to be from genuine businesses. They use high quality photos from real companies, or AI generated imagery. You should search for reviews of online shops that you have not come across before you buy from them.
Spotting a fake profile
Be wary if someone you don’t know wants to add you as their friend. Check and see when exactly their account was set up. Long established accounts are less likely to be fake. The number of followers is another tell-tale sign. A lower number suggests it may be fake.
If it is a business profile, check to see if the logo or image seems legitimate. Scammers often use copycat versions. There might be changes, even slight ones, to the wording of the legitimate account, such as changing an ‘I’ to a ‘1’ or an ‘O’ to a ‘0’.
Another sign can be a suspicious post popping up a lot in your feed. Fraudsters post fake comments on popular posts that include interesting looking links which in fact direct you to phishing websites.
Top Tip
Before interacting with a company on social media, check their website for links to their social media accounts. This will help you ensure the account is genuine.
Protect yourself against social media scams:
Do
- Make sure the person is who they say they are, check their history, activity online and number of followers
- Be careful about sharing too much personal information on social media
- Review and update the privacy settings for each of your social media accounts
- Think before you click – be wary of any suspicious links sent your way
- Change your password regularly for each of your social media accounts
Don’t
- Add someone as a friend online unless you know them and have a need to connect
- Be misled by cheap offers – if an offer seems too good to be true it usually is
- Send money to any person you have only met online
- Give out personal information in response to a social media posting
- Pay for an item without verifying the seller is legitimate
Caught out by a social media scam?
If you have responded to an approach or request on social media and given your bank account details, notify your bank or card issuer immediately. Your account can be placed on hold and card cancelled if necessary.
Report the scam post/page to the social media company you see it on. You should also report it locally to the Gardaí.
