Social Media Scams Continue to Dominate Losses

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:

1. Give your friends a call if they ask you for money through social media. Account hacking is extremely common (Social Media Hacking Statistics, n.d.), and your “friend” may actually be a hacker.
2. Be wary of strangers who seem to want to be your friend or your partner immediately. Romance scams account for a large portion of social media losses (Fletcher, 2023).
3. Always research companies before you buy from them. A quick Google search for the company’s name plus “scam” will help you assess the authenticity of the site. In addition, legitimate companies will have a phone number and a physical address on their website.
4. Be cautious of products with highly inflated reviews, or “stars.” Many scam websites use fake reviews to compel buyers (Marsh, 2023).
5. If someone asks you to wire money, send bank account information, or give up your personal details, proceed with the utmost caution. Scammers are talented at representing themselves in a trustworthy way.
6. Avoid paying for social media purchases with a debit card. Using a credit card will make it easier to dispute any losses.
7. Turn off targeted advertising. Scammers can access these features to use your demographics and web search history to show you things that you are more likely to buy.
8. Finally, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Social media scams are engineered to pique your interest and pull you in. Practice taking a step back and thinking about the reality of this opportunity/product/relationship.

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