Go Back
Social media scams
Be suspicious of anyone who contacts you out of the blue on social media – scams losses are on the rise here.
United States reported losses of $80.2 million to social media scams last year – up 43% on the year before.
Scammers set up fake profiles on social media, messaging platforms and apps. They pretend to be from the government, a real business, employer, investment firm, or even a friend, family member or romantic interest.
They may:
use the same logo of the real organisation or photo of the person they are pretending to be to make the scam harder to spot.
impersonate famous people to 'recommend' goods or services
create fake identities to befriend you and win your trust.
Scammers can also learn a lot about you from details you share on your social media accounts. They create quizzes or posts designed to deceive you into sharing personal information. They use this information to guess your account passwords or target you with other scams.
United States reported losses of $80.2 million to social media scams last year – up 43% on the year before.
Scammers set up fake profiles on social media, messaging platforms and apps. They pretend to be from the government, a real business, employer, investment firm, or even a friend, family member or romantic interest.
They may:
use the same logo of the real organisation or photo of the person they are pretending to be to make the scam harder to spot.
impersonate famous people to 'recommend' goods or services
create fake identities to befriend you and win your trust.
Scammers can also learn a lot about you from details you share on your social media accounts. They create quizzes or posts designed to deceive you into sharing personal information. They use this information to guess your account passwords or target you with other scams.
More Details
Steps you can take to protect yourself
These simple steps can help prevent loss of money or personal information to scams.
Make sure the person is who they say they are
- Research profiles to check how long an account has been active, how many friends or followers they have and how much activity they have had online including posts and photos. Lack of history, detail and followers can be a sign of a fake profile.
- Be wary if a job is offered to you without an interview, or discussion about your experience, suitability, and references. Research the recruiter and the business or individual offering the position. Contact the recruitment agency via phone numbers sourced from an independent internet search.
- If an offer appears too good to be true, it probably is. Research any investment opportunity fully before investing money.
Be careful about what information you share on social media
- Never send money to a person you have only met online
- Never send personal pictures of yourself to someone you have only met online
