A recent scam has popped up on X (Twitter) recently, in which fake accounts for real airlines seek to get ahold of passengers’ private information (WSOC TV, 2023). According to a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report (Fletcher, 2023), Americans lost a staggering $2.7 billion from social media scams between January 2021 and June 2023. Today, social media scams are the most prevalent type of scam, defrauding Americans out of more money than phone call scams, text scams, and mail scams combined.

The most reported social media scams in 2023 involved people trying to buy something marketed on social media, accounting for 44% of all reported social media scams. However, investment scams marketed on social media account for the highest proportion of money lost, accounting for 53% of the total losses.

While social media sites purport that they thoroughly authenticate their sellers, a quick visit to Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok will reveal that this is not true. It is not rare to see the exact same article of clothing, worn by the same model, being sold by dozens of shops. As we continue into this age of technology and social media, it is important to be aware of potential scams. Furthermore, we must aim to promote social media literacy, with a third of TikTok users being 14 years old or younger (TikTok Ad Scams, 2020). The financial exploitation of minors is a huge concern.

Here are some things to be aware of the next time that you or your loved ones are surfing social media:

This post was created in collaboration with Scam Lab member Jane Lu Matejika.

References

Fletcher, E. (2023, October 6). Social media: A golden goose for scammers. Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2023…

Marsh, S. (2023, April 22). ‘It can be incredibly profitable’: The secret world of fake online reviews. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/apr/22/it-can-be-incredibly-prof…

Social Media Hacking Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://gitnux.org/social-media-hacking-statistics/

TikTok Ad Scams: Insufficient Moderation Leaves “For You” Page Filled with Dubious Apps, Products and Services. (2020, September 3). Tenable®. https://www.tenable.com/blog/tiktok-ad-scams-insufficient-moderation-le…

WSOC TV. (2023). New social media scam tricking travelers out of private information.

QOSHE - Social Media Scams Continue to Dominate Losses - Stacey Wood
menu_open
Columnists Actual . Favourites . Archive
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close
Aa Aa Aa
- A +

Social Media Scams Continue to Dominate Losses

26 0
26.04.2024

A recent scam has popped up on X (Twitter) recently, in which fake accounts for real airlines seek to get ahold of passengers’ private information (WSOC TV, 2023). According to a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report (Fletcher, 2023), Americans lost a staggering $2.7 billion from social media scams between January 2021 and June 2023. Today, social media scams are the most prevalent type of scam, defrauding Americans out of more money than phone call scams, text scams, and mail scams combined.

The most reported social media scams in 2023 involved people trying to buy something marketed on social media, accounting........

© Psychology Today


Get it on Google Play