According to a study by Goodfirms, around 47 percent of social media users have fallen for social scams shopping online Social media websites also continue to offer low-cost setups that play a crucial role in making it easy for people to get scammed online. These scams also cause enormous damage to the economy. , scams with phishing links and gift cards are quite successful: 36.7 percent of those surveyed have already been victims of these scams.

Social scams: Target unsuspecting users

Scams using phishing links are the most common type of scam and target data from those affected. Gift card scams promise fake redeemable gift cards from popular platforms like Amazon that are supposed to be worth cash. In addition, 33 percent of participants said they had fallen for help scams. A fake company employee pretends to help in an emergency situation and demands money in return. Job scams, on the other hand, seem to make up a large proportion of all scams, at 30 percent. False job advertisements are posted here in order to obtain a person's private information.

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In so-called targeted advertising scams, a false online shop is put into circulation. Here too, personal data is to be stolen. There are numerous other scams. Due to their low prevalence compared to those already mentioned, the study still lists “cloned/hacked account scams” ​​at 23.3 percent and investment scams at 16.7 percent. Lottery scams and fake account scams account for 13.3 percent. Quiz/pooling and romance scams are at around 6.7 percent, followed by fake ticket scams at a very low 2.1 percent.

Sources:

Social Media Scams: Stunning Statistics and Tips to Protect Yourself
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