We’ve all seen heart-wrenching stories on Facebook about missing pets or children. It’s natural to want to help by sharing these posts with your friends. However, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns that sharing such posts can actually put your social media friends at risk of falling victim to scams.
Before you get to tears or a sob story, don’t be surprised if these accounts change their content to something deceptive.
Scammers know that we tend to trust content shared by our friends. They capitalize on this trust by stealing photos of kids or pets and posting them in groups or with random users in hopes the bait will work.
Eventually, what used to be missing/hurt pets or kids is a post about homes from real estate ads to create housing or rental scams. They alter the shared posts, initially alerts about missing pets or children, to deceive people. These scams prey on our emotions and use tactics like urgency to lure unsuspecting victims.
READ MORE: Illinois Yard Law Could Cost You $25,000 If You’re Lazy
Maybe your friends fell victim to the scam because of YOU
It could start with you, Your friends think you recommended the content. But you didn’t. When you share a post, your friends see a different version than what you saw. Scammers alter the original post to mislead others into thinking you vouched for the content.
This puts your friends at risk of falling for rental scams or divulging personal information that can be used for identity theft. The BBB has reported cases where a post about a missing dog was later turned into an enticing rental pitch for a too-good-to-be-true property deal.
To protect yourself and your friends from falling for these scams, the BBB offers some useful tips:
Check out this video by Rockford realtor Kim Geddes:
Click Here For The Original Story
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…