Social Media Shenanigans:Scary Scams

We would all like to believe that we are intelligent enough not to be scammed or hoodwinked by the nefarious characters out there that are intent on stealing our personal information. I think we are all familiar with the phrase ‘think with your head not your heart’ and this is exactly what the cybercriminals are hoping you won’t do. They are adept at triggering some emotion in you, which is when you are most likely to fall victim to a scam or racket.

Many of the tactics being employed are probably old fraud tricks just tailored, disguised and customized for social media. It will come as no surprise to you that as soon as the vaccine rollouts began around the world, cybercriminals were hard at work exploiting fear and anxiety and scamming people daily.

Here’s a reminder of some common scams that you should watch out for. It may vary or have a slight twist but almost always has some malicious intent attached to it.

Click here to find out your IQ

Ever post ‘so and so got my promotion, totally unfair! Sad face sad face’ and next thing you know you have an advert pop up to test your IQ and get a score? Of course you are sore and a little annoyed at the injustice of missing a promotion and what do you do? Click on that link to check your IQ. Similar quizzes are ‘which celebrity do you most look like?’ ‘Who has viewed your profile the most’ and ‘will you find the love of your life?’ The minute you click on that link to launch the app, you are giving another party (besides the platform you are on) access to your personal profile and information. Your data could end up on the black market.

Emotion targeted: Curiosity

Omg I saw a terrible video/photo of you

If you get a message like this, delete it. All the cybercriminal wants to do is get you click on that link and use the opportunity to get your details and access your account.

Emotion targeted: Fear (of embarrassment or threat to your reputation)

Free gift cards and other amazing giveaways

As much as you may love Starbucks, don’t click on links offering you gift cards or announcements that you have won something. You will be re-directed to a site that requires you to enter personal information and that’s where the trouble begins.

Emotion targeted: Greed (yes it’s an ugly word, an even worse emotion but it’s true nonetheless. We all want free things)

Who shot JR?

I’m sure a few people are wondering who the hell is JR? Look out for similar ads. The truth about Jo Lo and Ben Affleck. Why Megan made Harry quit his family. Harry Potter New Movie release. Yes those kinds of ads. You click on the link and you have inadvertently downloaded malware onto your device. Shock and horror when all you really want was to read some mindless article as you wind down for the evening.

Emotion targeted: Curiosity

Love is in the air

Experts say that by 2040, almost 70% of people would have launched the great romance of their lives, and met their other halves, online. Scammers are eagerly creating fake identities and profiles with the sole purpose of hooking someone who they will proceed to scam out of money. Soon after the romance starts, they develop a rare and confounding disease and only one doctor can cure them but he needs X amount of money to administer the treatment. It may also be some serious personal crisis or a family emergency where your fake love interest is loathe to ask you for money but knows your bleeding heart could never say no.

Emotion targeted: Love (willingness to help your new love) Panic/Fear (death of your love interest if they don’t receive medical attention)

I’m stuck overseas with no way to get home

I guess this one might not be so popular with travel restrictions as they are but if you have family travelling and you get a desperate message (via email) or on Facebook messenger or Instagram saying how they have been robbed of wallet and cellphone and need cash to get back to their hotel or to sort out a stolen passport, don’t just oblige. Make sure you are in fact speaking to your family member not someone who has hacked into his or her account and is scamming you out of money.

Emotion targeted: Love/Trust/Fear/Panic

My final thoughts on this would be:

· Do use your common sense

· Do check and re-check facts before taking any action

· Do take a breath and think before you click on any link