Fraudsters are increasingly turning to social media platforms, with fraud across popular services like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter bringing in at least $770 million for criminals in 2021. by data by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
But because few people report such fraud out of embarrassment or shame, the 95,000 victims in the commission’s investigation are estimated to represent only a “small fraction” of the total number of such cases, the FTC said.
Social media fraud accounted for around 25% of all reported fraud losses last year, an 18-fold increase from the losses reported five years ago. Social media proved more profitable for scammers in 2021 “than any other method of reaching people,” the FTC said.
Every age group was affected, but those aged 18 to 39 were more than twice as likely as older adults to be victims of a social media scam in the past 12 months, the data showed.
The FTC said those who reported losing money to social media scams in 2021 said the scammer’s ruse began with an ad, post, or message.
“There’s a lot to like about social media for scammers,” the commission said in its recent report. “It’s a cost-effective way to reach billions of people around the world. It’s easy to create a fake persona, or scammers can hack into an existing profile to trick “friends” into cheating. There is an opportunity to refine their approach by examining the personal data people share on social media.”
It added that scammers “can simply use the tools available to advertisers on social media platforms to systematically target people with fake ads based on personal information such as age, interests, or previous purchases.”
Investment-related cons turned out to be the most lucrative scam for criminals using social media, especially those related to fake cryptocurrency products, data from the FTC revealed.
“People send money, often cryptocurrency, with promises of huge returns, but end up empty-handed,” the commission said.
Romance scams were the second most profitable social media scam in the past year, according to data, with more than a third of victims saying the scam started on Facebook or Instagram.
“These scams often begin with a seemingly innocent friend request from a stranger, followed by nice talk and then inevitably a demand for money,” the FTC said.
While investment and romance scams resulted in the largest financial losses, the highest number of reports were associated with incidents where the victim attempted to purchase something advertised on social media, typically Facebook or Instagram. In such cases, the buyer ordered something that was never delivered. Even more sinister e-commerce scams drove victims towards online stores designed to resemble those of famous brands.
The FTC’s findings are a salutary reminder of the pitfalls of social media and the need for users to remain vigilant when engaging with content posted by others, particularly when it involves any type of financial transaction.
The Commission offers various tips on how to avoid problems, e.g. B. Limiting who can see your posts and information on social media, avoiding excessive sharing of personal information, and calling a friend to confirm the situation if they appear to have messaged you to the effect of some form of payment.
Digital Trends also has an informative article on how to avoid online problems. Try it and stay safe.
If you are in the US and believe you have been the victim of fraud or fraud, you can report it via the FTC’s website.
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