We all love Facebook for many different reasons. But, one thing we can all agree on is with the good comes the bad.
We’ve poured through the data and have compiled a TOP 5 list of the most prevalent Facebook scams for you to be aware of:
TOP 5 FACEBOOK SCAMS
- 1. Online Stores
Great looking clothing. Amazing prices. Usually scams.
We say usually because out of all of the complaints posted on Scambook, the top 5 this month have been stores that advertise on Facebook. The short story is that these websites that advertise on Facebook are usually fraudulent sites. They’ll accept payment, but won’t ship you the product you ordered.
- 2. Win a prize
Ah…the ‘click here and win a prize’ scam. Usually these are nothing more than marketing schemes that once they collect your info – companies either sell the data or use it for spamming and/or marketing ploys.
- 3. Look at this video
We all get curious when we see the ‘you won’t believe this’ tagline on a video or picture. But, what you may not realize when you click on the link to that ‘shocking’ video, is that it often leads to a quick questionnaire or survey that your’e required to fill out. Once you fill it out, your information is passed on to someone and the creator of the malware/virus/viral post gets paid. You may or may not have just downloaded malware, but the person on the receiving end is definitely getting paid for the information you just provided.
Oh, and there’s probably no ‘shocking’ video. It’s a ploy.
- 4. Facebook is starting to charge $$
Do NOT pay anyone for anything on Facebook. IF Facebook ever starts charging (why would they need to? They are bazzillionares), every news media outlet will tell you about it. Just don’t take someone’s post as truth. Verify it before you start paying someone for something.
- 5. Donations
You get a friend request. The name sounds somewhat familiar. You start talking to them and they seem so genuine.
Days later, they tell you a sob story. They need money.
Ok, we are not callous people here at Scambook. We’ve just been around the block. This…is most likely a scam. It’s too coincidental. Many people tell us stories of how they were coerced out of money by a donating money to their ‘friend’ on Facebook. Their friend that they barely know.
Ok! That’s the top 5 for this month. Stay tuned for more and read through our other blog posts on how to spot a scam!
Leave a Reply