We live in a world of social media. There is literally no one around us who doesn’t use social media. Be it a teenager or an adult, everyone has got the hang of it. The number of people using it is actually astonishing. There are more than 2 billion daily users on Facebook alone, which is one-quarter of the planet’s population and does not include the people who do not use Facebook daily. Apart from this, there are other social media platforms, such as Snapchat, Instagram, and more.
Since there is such a huge number of social media users, scammers use this as the perfect way to find their victims. They look for people online and end up scamming them. This also gave birth to the rise in companies like TheClaimers who help people recover their amount lost to scams which is great and helped a huge chunk of people.
The main thing is that since the number of social media users is huge, it has become a gold mine for scammers.
Social Media Scams – An In-Depth Dive
The Federal Trade Commission reported losses of more than three-quarters of $1 billion to social media scams and about 100,000 victims in the year 2021. One thing to note is that this number is only from the FTC and does not include scams reported to other agencies or companies out there. Most of the scams happened due to romance, online shopping, investment, and other social media scams.
One-half of the complaints reported to the FTC was about online shopping. People saw appealing ads which promoted in-demand items at really low prices from brand-name companies. 90% of the ads people saw were promoted on Facebook and Instagram. Criminals also used the services provided to advertise in order to look at their target markets’ habitual habits. These ads allow scammers to notice the kinds of deals people go for, the products they like, and so much more. For instance, do people like free shipping with an amazing deal? If yes, the scammer would upload a similar ad and scam people. Once you make the payment, say goodbye to your money and the product you anxiously await. You are never going to get it back.
Make sure not to purchase anything from shady social media ads, and always do your homework when willing to make a purchase online. If you are not familiar with the seller, then do not go for it. You should also consider checking the business bureau and carrying out your research to see if the website is a legit one or not. Check our customer reviews, and you will know. Another thing to keep in mind is to never click the link that is provided. Instead, enter the retailer’s name and search for the official website. If there is a sale, you will be able to see it. Remember, brand names do not offer amazing discounts to people through social media. Lastly, if you decide to make a purchase, you should use your credit card instead of a debit card as they offer loads of protection from fraud.
Investment scams are quite common as well and are growing at a very fast rate through social media. These involve cryptocurrency investment scams and others as well. Most of the time, the criminal uses social media to get to know the victim better and develop a relationship with the person before setting the trap. It has been noted that the media loss in an investment scam was over $1800, and there were losses that were as high as $40,000.
One thing to keep in mind is to never trust anyone who makes huge promises of great returns and says there is no chance that you will be making a loss. Sure, that might sound great, but it is a scam. Money return companies like TheClaimers also say this is one of the most common tactics scammers use. Moving on, there are other offers made by the scammer as well. Remember, the real investment must be registered with your state, and the broker must also be registered. Do not trust anyone that easily, and do your research before you trust any investor online.
There are social media chat rooms that provide connection and relief from isolation and also help you recover from personal loss. Social media also offers criminals great ways to commit scams which is why we need to be careful at all times.
One of my friends got scammed due to a romance scam and lost almost $5000. This was when she contacted ‘TheClaimers,’ a company that helped people recover their money lost to scams. She was able to get all her amount back which seemed impossible at first, but TheClaimers fulfilled their promise!
