Scammers often target victims with fanciful schemes to increase their wealth. Whether through investing in cryptocurrencies or filling in forms, there will always be a catch. Pro tip: Get Kim’s eBook Cryptocurrency 101 for sound advice on how to invest in crypto.
While phishing emails and text messages are frequently used scamming methods, social media also forms part of the criminal arsenal. One popular scheme is known as a giveaway scam. It might sound like a great deal, but you’re probably not going to be happy with the results.
Think that you can tell fact from fiction? Read on to see how Facebook and Instagram serve as the primary delivery method for these types of scams.
Everybody loves a good deal, but there is no such thing as free money. Regardless, a Facebook and Instagram advertisement is promising users $750 in Cash App rewards. It has also popped up in WhatsApp and Facebook groups.
The premise is simple: fill in a short survey, and you’ll get a reward for your effort. But that alone should send alarm bells ringing. According to the fact-checking website Snopes, the scam has been around since at least May of last year.
“Most of them appeared to lead to brief surveys in Google Docs or on sites.google.com pages before ultimately asking users for personally identifiable information (PII),” Snopes explains. As a result, criminals can commit identity fraud, launch phishing attacks, or steal your social media and banking accounts with your personal information.
Also making the rounds on Facebook and Instagram is a book exchange program that promises the return of reading materials for doing only one thing.
This idea is spread through social media and WhatsApp groups and urges recipients to sign up for the book exchange. All you need to do in addition to supplying your name and email address is send a few friends’ names and contact information.
You then send one book to a random participant for the book exchange to work, and you’ll allegedly receive 36 books in return. The thing is, there’s no guarantee that you’ll receive any books. Not only that, but this is an illegal pyramid scheme.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) points out it goes downhill quickly. “This kind of gift exchange is actually an illegal pyramid scam. Eventually, new people will stop participating or responding to the messages. Then, new recruits will never receive the books they were promised,” the BBB explains.
Not only would you have lost the money it costs to buy and send a book, but you’ve also compromised your details and that of your friends. To stay safe, here are some tips from BBB:
A classic Facebook scam is still going strong – Don’t fall for it
Norton renewal email scam: Keep an eye out for this phony invoice
Click Here For The Original Source
Recently, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued fresh warnings about cryptocurrencies amid Bitcoin's surge to a…
Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Athena here. (It’s anonymous!) Dear…
By Virma Simonette & Kelly Ngin Manila and Singapore14 March 2024Image source, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime…
Technology has disrupted many aspects of traditional life. When you are sitting at dinner and…
Reports of suicides, missing bodies, sexual kompromat and emptied bank accounts as fake sangomas con…
A South African woman has been left with her head in her hands after she…