Protecting Yourself from Social Media Scams 

With social media being as prominent as it is today, scammers inevitably have found ways to exploit others. Countless different statistics indicate that some victims of scams were originally targeted through social media.

Scammers often create fake personas or pretend to be others to coerce you into fulfilling their needs. Below are some tips to help protect yourself from scams:

• If someone you are unfamiliar with has randomly reached out with the intention of starting a friendship or romance, be on the lookout. They are building towards requesting that you send them money/funds rather sooner than later.
• If someone you are personally familiar with reaches out asking for money, their social media account could be compromised. Give them a phone call if possible and ask if their request was true or warn them about what happened.
• Scammers commonly pretend to be others. Whether it be a celebrity or brand that you follow, they can pose as others and take advantage of your liking towards them to get you to do something. It is extremely unlikely that a celebrity or brand will ever actually reach out to you for anything.
• Never share your password with anyone. Regularly change it and if you are aware of a possible breach to your account, change your password as soon as possible.

Fake accounts with websites that sell products they don’t have run rampant. That, or accounts with websites that sell counterfeit items advertised as authentic. Below are some tips to help protect yourself from these scams: 

• If you are looking to purchase a product, first inspect the account that is advertising it before clicking any links. Does the account look fishy in any way? Are deals that seem too good to be true being advertised? If something seems too good for it to be true, it usually is.
• If the account seems real and you have moved on to their website, is the website a brand that is known and reliable? If the website appears unprofessional and disorganized, it’s usually a sign that it is not real. You may be purchasing an item that will never come.
• A quick Google or YouTube search may help identify if the brand you are looking into is real and authentic or not.
• Investigate as much as possible. 

There are countless different methods that scammers use to take advantage of others on social media. Limiting who can see your accounts and making them private is always helpful to contribute to your security as well. Never give money to strangers with no real credentials online.

To report suspected scams or fraud, call the Federal Trade Commission at   
(877)-382-4357, from 9 AM-5 PM ET. Or visit https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ .  

If you are interested in learning more about protecting yourself against Identity theft-related scams, speak with a Community Resource Specialist: (408)-350-3200, option 1.