It's bad news for those of us that frequent the platforms that social media has become an increasingly popular tool for scam artists. A new report from the Federal Trade Commission reminds us that we should trust no one online and that social media is a gold mine for scam artists. Over the last five years, social media scam losses have increased at an alarming rate, accounting for $770 million in reported losses in 2021. The agency received more than 95,000 reports of fraud on social media last year. Investment scam and romance scam were the most profitable for fraudsters. Those who use romance to scam are truly callous. In investment scam, individuals reach out to users on social media with bogus investment opportunities promising big returns, sometimes pretending to the victim's friends to get them to send money. It's no surprise that windles have increased because of the boom in popularity.
Romance scam, a fraud category at record highs, consists of exactly what their name suggests.
More than a third of people who said they lost money to an online romance scam in 2021 said it began on Facebook.
Online shopping was a scam in the report. The fraud that people most reported to the FTC was the most profitable type of scam, accounting for 45% of loss reports. The platforms most cited by victims of the scam were Facebook andInstagram, but they never received their purchase.
The FTC's data shows that social media scam artists earned more money than any other method of reaching people.
The agency stated that there is a lot for scam artists to like about social media. It is a low-cost way to reach billions of people. It's easy to lie about their intentions and intentions can be used to get money out of you on social media. We share a lot of personal information online, which makes it easier for criminals to target users.
SCAMmers are always looking for new ways to get your money. They will use whatever they know about you to target their pitch, according to the agency's Division of Consumer and Business Education.
There are other good practices you can adopt, like being wary of the content and people you interact with on social media. Some recommendations from the FTC include limiting who can see your posts and information on social media, opting out of targeting advertising if possible, and calling friends who ask you for money on social media to confirm it is really them.
Don't panic if you fall for a social media scam. There are ways to get your money back. Don't invest, romance, or shop at companies you've never heard of.
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