In the findings of Federal Trade Commission (FTC), they stated that social media was a gold mine for scammers in 2021, representing a massive percentage losses of over $700 million.
Fortunately, there are three ways to protect yourself from social media scammers, which include the avoidance of clickbait.
FTC: 'Social media a gold mine for scammers in 2021,' Here's Why
According to the FTC, social media scams have expanded at an alarming rate over the past five years, accounting for nearly $770 million in reported losses in 2021.
The said number is an eighteenfold increase from $42 million in 2017.
Last year, the agency received over 95,000 complaints of social media fraud in a number of categories, including investment scams, romance scams, and online shopping scams.
With regards to the percentage, the two most profitable for fraudsters are the investment scams that accounts 37 percent and romantic scams for 24 percent.
In investment scams, scammers reach out to people on social media with fictitious profitable investment opportunities offering large returns, often mimicking the victim's friends to encourage them to give money.
Scams using cryptocurrencies have increased dramatically, which is unsurprising given the currency's meteoric growth in popularity, per Gizmodo.
On the other hand, romance scams are a type of frauds that is likewise at an all-time high and consists of exactly what its name implies.
Federal Trade Commission explained that more than a third of people who said they lost money to an online romance scam in 2021 said it started on Facebook or Instagram.
"These scams often start with a seemingly innocent friend request from a stranger, followed by sweet talk, and then, inevitably, a request for money," the post by the FTC said.
The agency's study also mentioned online shopping as a prominent scam category. Despite not being as financially rewarding as the other sorts of scams mentioned, this was the most commonly reported to the FTC, accounting for 45 percent of all loss claims.
Victims of these scams purchased something on social media-the platforms most frequently mentioned were Facebook and Instagram-but never received anything.
Overall, according to the FTC's findings, scammers made more money using social media in 2021 than they did using any other approach.
3 Ways to Protect Yourself From Social Media Scammers
Since online transactions popularize all over the world, numerous scammers have been utilizing this to acquire huge amount of money to those unwary.
Fortunately, INC shared several ways to protect yourself from social media scammers.
3. Do Not Believe Giveaways, Contests, and Surveys Easily
In order to entice numerous unwary people, scammers may provide "free gift cards" or "great discount coupons," or offer a reward in exchange for performing a survey.
These are scams that are designed to either get access to your social media account information or to acquire personal information, both of which will be used for malicious ends.
2. Do Not Accept Connection Requests From Suspiscious Accounts
Scammers have been known to create false accounts using images of people that are publicly available.
To identify if the account belongs to them, look at how many friends or contacts the person requesting the connection has in common with you and check if that figure makes sense. Additionally, check at how old the account's postings are, and so on to see if it's genuine.
1. Do Not Fall For Clickbaits
Scammers are known to post links that attract attention, whether they claim to provide a scoop on breaking celebrity news, previously undiscovered scandalous photographs of a celebrity, or secret information that can help you make quick money through a stock investment.
The links, of course, often direct to malicious websites similar to those used in giveaway, contest, and survey scams.
