FRAUD NEWS
Scammers often utilize social media by creating fake accounts pretending to be famous brands, organizations, celebrities, or even your friends to try and convince you to give them personal information and data. They can use this information to steal your money, including credit or debit card numbers, bank account numbers, usernames, and passwords.
What to watch out for:
One common tactic that these fraudsters use is exploiting real giveaways. When a real account starts a giveaway, scammers will create fake accounts and seek out people who entered to get their personal information by telling them that they won.
Learn how to identify fake accounts and avoid being scammed over social media.
Answering the following questions will help:
- Are you following a suspicious account?
If you know that you are following the real account that initially offered the giveaway, check to see if you also follow the account that messaged you. If you're not following them, it's probably fake.
- Who else is following the suspicious account?
Fake accounts can purchase followers to help their page look legitimate. Tap their follower number to inspect if anyone you know is also following them.
- Who is the account following?
Fake accounts often follow many more accounts than they have following them.
- Does the suspicious account have any posts?
If the account has no posts, it's a good sign that it is probably fake. Be cautious, though; counterfeit accounts can copy the photos of the original account and create posts to make the phony page look like the original.
- Finally, is the account verified?
Many celebrity and brand accounts have the blue checkmark next to their username, signifying it as a verified account.
Remember to ask yourself these questions as you engage in social media and be wary of anyone asking for personal information, even if it seems legitimate.
