Published: Published Date – 12:50 AM, Tue – 20 September 22
Facebook is the most popular social network worldwide and has become an incredible tool for empowering many to speak, express and promote the ideas that benefit them. Facebook is also becoming the primary medium to promote business and services.
With a huge group of people connected via a network, it has also become the most prospective place for scammers to look for their victims. It becomes easy for these fraudsters to find links and connections through their social media handle.
Facebook Impersonation Scam: Cybercriminals gain access to all of the victim’s personal information by hacking the victim’s Facebook account. Scammers use social engineering techniques to create a full social profile and collect all information, including social status and connections. Once the impersonated account is complete, the scammer attempts to contact all of his friends and family and add them to his impersonated or fake account. The scammer usually tries to ask for money to be transferred to his account, claiming he urgently needs money as a family member is in hospital etc.
Romance Scam: Social media creates an opportunity for young women and men living in socially conservative non-western societies to be able to communicate, meet and engage in forbidden intimacy and forbidden behaviours. Though Facebook isn’t a dating website, it has become a standard place to seek love. They target singles and strike up a web relationship with them to manipulate their emotions and get money.
Fraudsters will use impersonated profiles to pose as doctors, pilots, scientists, etc. in foreign countries seeking alliances or friendship. They’ll start chatting and once the victim starts to trust the scammer, he starts telling all kinds of stories, claiming financial or health crisis after another. Some scammers coerce you into sharing private moments, which can result in a variety of outcomes, such as (i) proposal turns extortion (ii) pretty woman is a man (iii) making a gay man pay (iv) I have your sex recording etc
Charity Scam: Many genuine charities are supporting families in trouble, and other people are active in fund-raising for them. We have plenty of fake charities offering to (i) Raising funds for disasters (ii) provide medical or educational help for poor children, etc.
These fake charities often do not have a physical address but have very fancy websites and social profiles. They are so good that you get tempted to donate just by looking at their profiles. The majority of these bogus charities do not provide valid bank information, instead offer a PO Box or a PayPal account. Legitimate charities reveal all of their information, including their physical address, bank account information, expense information, funding information, and key resources.
Shopping Scams: Facebook has grown from a simple social platform to a robust e-commerce platform. Unfortunately, cybercriminals capitalise on this popularity and use it to post scam advertisements. Scammers create fake electronic or clothing brand accounts to push imitation goods.
The scams have offers, i.e., buy one get one free, prelaunch, etc., and push scam advertisements. Most sellers have very good social profiles, and a few of them are even promoted by social media influencers. They offer goods at unreasonably cheap prices but don’t deliver the goods and disappear after you transfer the money.
How to stay safe
• Lock your Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/help/196419427651178
• Use a strong, complex password with special characters and numerical
• Enable two-factor authentication for your account
• Shop only from verified brand accounts
• Connect only with known people
• Be suspicious if any of your known or unknown contacts asks for money on a Facebook chat
• Never click on short links without verifying their authenticity. You can use https://www.isitphishing.org
• Configure your privacy settings. https://www.facebook.com/help/193677450678703
• Reporting in-appropriate content and profiles. https://www.facebook.com/help/212722115425932
• Reporting a hacked Page https://www.facebook.com/hacked
• Reporting a Page https://www.facebook.com/help/355811251195044
• Reporting Impersonation https://www.facebook.com/help/174210519303259?rdrhc
What if fraud happens on Facebook
(a) Report the scam or issue on the Facebook portal
(b) Change your password
(c) Block the account (If someone is harassing, trolling, or threatening you.)
(d) Store screenshots of payments, or bullying, etc.
(e) If your problem is not resolved on Facebook, file a complaint at https://cybercrime.gov.in/ or contact your local police station. Or call Helpline No. 1930
