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Here’s how scammers can use your social media profile

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A graphic of a threat actor hanging a folder titled Personal Data from a laptop

Social networks are a prime target for fraudsters. By understanding their tactics, you can protect yourself from becoming a victim. Let’s see how scammers often use your social media profiles to lure you into scams.



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The most proven tactic by fraudsters is a social engineering tactic called phishing. Phishing involves using deception, such as impersonating a trusted person, website or organization, to steal your personal information.

On social networks, for example, you may receive a message with an attractive offer and a link to claim it. However, once you click on it, you will be redirected to a legitimate-looking malicious website that requests your personal or financial information in order to claim the offer. When you enter your details, the scammer captures them on the other end to use fraudulently.


Since these sites look legitimate, it’s best to learn the signs of a phishing site and report them. But before you get that far, it’s best not to respond to spam or click on suspicious links.


1 Impersonating someone you know

Friend request from newly created Facebook profile.

Some scammers are crafty enough to create fake profiles that pretend to be a friend or family member. This usually happens in two ways: they hack into the person’s account, or they create a completely new account with their personal information and photos.

Once they have the profile ready, they will send you a friend request. If they are already your friends, they will send you a message to trick you into revealing your personal information or clicking on malicious links. They may even ask you to send them money.


If you receive a suspicious message from a friend or family member, try contacting them directly through other means to see if it’s really them. You could alert them to a potential scam if it’s not them.

Also, be careful about the information you share on your public profile. This information can be used to make scams look more convincing.

Everyone likes free stuff and scammers know it. They create persuasive ads to lure unsuspecting victims into clicking on them and filling out a form to claim a prize. It’s a simple way to take advantage of people’s love of excitement, the promise of reward, and the trust associated with spending money to post an ad.

Before participating in any offer, you should learn how to spot a fake ad on social media. You’ll know right away when you see warning signs, such as offers that are too good to be true, ads from unverified accounts or pages, and – as is common with any scam – bad grammar.


You should also check the comment sections of these ads; they are usually full of negative reviews and warnings from other users.

3 Fake job offers

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I was desperate for a job once when someone posted a job ad in a Facebook group saying they were hiring immediately. I clicked on the post and it said the offer was in a Google Docs document. I clicked on the link and was redirected to a legitimate looking Google login page.

I found this strange because I was already signed in to my Google account in the browser. I should have been able to access the document immediately. Being desperate, I entered my credentials anyway and submitted.


Well, nothing happened because the button to submit the form didn’t work. That’s when I knew I had just been scammed by a fake job offer.

A few minutes later I received an email from Google with the subject line: Critical safety notice. Google blocked someone in a foreign country from accessing my account.

A critical security warning from Google that shows someone has been blocked from signing in.

If not for Google’s strict security measures, my account would have been hacked.

It’s not hard to imagine people hacking their accounts this way through fake job offers. So if you get a social media job offer, check the URLs, research the company offering it, and always trust your gut if something doesn’t feel right.


4 Romantic scams

A romance scam is usually a long scam. The scammer creates a fake social network profile and enters into a romantic relationship with the victim. After gaining their complete trust, they suddenly start asking for money to cover various, unexpected expenses.

The victim then starts paying for their groceries, rent, trips and medical bills. The scammer may even trick them into giving out their financial information, such as credit card details, so they can start spending before betraying them.

To avoid romance scams on social media, always be careful not to express your intense love too soon. Try to verify the person’s identity by other means. Also, don’t send them any money if you haven’t met them in person and haven’t known them for a while.

5 Quizzes and surveys

What’s the harm in filling out a short survey or answering a social media quiz for a gift card? If it’s from a legitimate or trusted account or site, nothing. But if it isn’t, it could be scammers trying to steal your information or directing you to a phishing site.


The signs that this is a scam are usually the same as for fake ads (eg incredibly good deals and negative reviews). Only participate in quizzes and surveys that ask for personal information if they are from a trusted source. Also, always warn others by leaving a negative review once you’ve verified it’s a scam.

6 Crypto and other investment scams

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little figures mining bitcoin in the garden
lp-studio/Shutterstock

Investment scams can lure you in by claiming that the person is making $100 a week trading crypto or forex. Low risk, high return investments are usually scams. If you were to research the types of investments that these scammers are advertising, such as crypto or forex, you would find that it is not something that can make someone rich overnight.


This is not an exhaustive list of all the scams you will encounter on social media. There are different variations of these scams and new ones appear from time to time. It is always best to be vigilant and protect yourself from social media scams.

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