By Marissa Laliberte, Reader's Digest
You might just use Facebook for watching funny cat videos, but crooks use it to steal your money and information.
A healthy dose of skepticism
Facebook can be a wonderful place full of opportunities to learn new things, share the special moments in your life, and reconnect with old friends. While Facebook is a lighthearted site for sharing, liking, and commenting, it is also one of the most common places for scams and fraud on the Internet. Unfortunately, while you're sharing your life with friends and family, you might be unintentionally sharing private information with those who wish to do you harm.
On the bright side, there are ways to protect yourself against the nefarious and sometimes quite believable scams. More and more scams are being exposed every day and each new scam is more clever and less detectable than the last. As a rule of thumb, remember to do your own research, never click on suspicious links, and distrust sites asking you to enter personal information. You can protect yourself from the new Facebook Messenger scams and stay vigilant against these common tactics.
COVID-19 information and pleas
While many would think taking advantage of a world-wide pandemic is too deplorable to imagine, scammers are not above exploiting such a novel weak point. One popular COVID-19 related scam comes in the form of messages from a Facebook friend who has supposedly been stranded, infected, or otherwise impaired by the virus and needs some sort of financial support. These pleas are often sent from copycat accounts (with real photos and stolen information) which disappear entirely once the money is transferred. Other scammers pretend to be health organizations or hospitals asking for personal data or offering "miracle cures or vaccines" for amazingly low costs. Hackers prey on the fear and misinformation swirling around the virus and attempt to capitalize on it. Make sure to double-check accounts, websites, and organizations through other channels or sources before sending money, clicking links, or sharing identifying information. Also, be on the lookout for strange typos or wording signaling the scammer may not actually be who they say they are.
Attention-grabbing posts
One of the newer scam-types in the Facebook realm is known as the "like-farming scam." These posts, according to the Better Business Bureau, are meant to elicit some sort of strong emotional reaction. One method is through offering a tempting sale or offer on products if the user "likes, comments, and shares" while others aim to get users to share the post as many times as possible through heart-warming pictures or faux-activism posts. In most of these cases, associated links could potentially put malware on your computer or require personal information (sometimes including credit card or social security numbers) to claim your prize. If a post requires extensive sharing or personal information, it's best to be wary and check the original source for legitimacy.
Working from home
Because the pandemic has many people reconsidering the "working from home" lifestyle, scammers are more keen—and well-positioned—than ever before to profit off of the hype. One way they attempt to sway you is through offering too-good-to-be-true-job offers and salaries that would allow users to make an unbelievable amount of money from home. They collect vital data from the users (sometimes including bank account statements, records, and social security numbers) and then resell it to the highest bidder. In other iterations, the scam takes on the role of a pyramid-like scheme in which the user has to first send in money or buy products to reach their "inevitable fortunes." It's best to do a little research into the company and not click on any offers that seem unrealistic.
Taking quizzes
Your friend just found out what ‘80s pop star is their spirit animal and now you can’t wait to find out either. Don’t let your curiosity get the better of you, though. Some Facebook quizzes will ask for access to your profile, and others will even go a step further by throwing certain questions into the quiz itself, says Adam Levin, founder of global identity protection and data risk services firm CyberScout and author of Swiped. “They’re purely to gather information because … they could be the answers to security questions,” he says. Only take quizzes on sites you know and trust, and create fake answers for password recovery questions so they’re hard to crack, says Levin. It might be easy enough for Facebook scams to figure out your mother’s maiden name, so leave an easy-to-remember lie instead.
Insane giveaways
Free iPad giveaway? Sign me up! But wait—before you click that sweepstakes link, ask yourself whether it seems real, says Eva Velasquez, CEO and president of Identity Theft Resource Center. “Yes, there are legitimate sweepstakes and raffles and giveaways, but there’s usually an end goal there,” she says. Most companies are hoping the promise of a free iPad (or flight or jewelry) will entice you enough to, say, sign up for a newsletter or buy a product. Before you give any personal information to a company, weigh the chances of winning with what you'll lose giving up personal information.
The “new” old friend
Be skeptical if you receive a friend request from someone you could have sworn already had a Facebook page. Sure, some people like to clean house by ditching their old profiles, but other friend requests aren’t so innocent. Scammers will clone a person’s entire Facebook profile, creating a fake profile of a real person. From your “friend’s” page, the hacker could send a link for a get-rich-quick scheme or a cute quote. It’s the kind of thing you’d ignore from an anonymous email message, but not from a loyal friend. “They’re banking on the fact that you will trust the message,” says Levin. The problem is, clicking that link could add malware to your computer. Before you accept a weird friend request, shoot over a text or call the person to confirm it’s not a fake account.
A friend’s strange request
Even if you haven’t received a new request, don’t immediately trust a message from a friend you can’t see face-to-face. Hackers can find a person’s password and break into their account, then message their friends. The person might claim to have lost their wallet in Europe and ask you to send money. It might sound obvious enough now that it’s a scam, but those messages could tap into your fear so you don’t think straight. If you’re wondering if your “friend” is who you think it is, get in touch on a platform other than Facebook. Ringtones sound different in America than in other countries, so you’ll be able to figure out if you’re friend is traveling, even if they don’t pick up the phone, says Levin. Still not sure? Again, get in touch off of Facebook to find out what’s going on. Even beyond your computer, these are the items in your home that could be spying on you.
Gossipmongers
Whether you know the person who posted it or not, you might go into panic mode when someone leaves you a message warning, “OMG look what they’re saying about you” and click the link to find out what’s going on. “It’s really about engaging your curiosity and getting your curious nature to say, ‘I want to know,’” says Velasquez. But don’t click! A vague message (“Did you see this picture of you?” vs “LOL at your face eating cake at Sam’s party last weekend”) is suspect, and clicking it could load malware onto your computer, says Velasquez. Text your friend to confirm the link is real.
Coupon codes
Liking a store or restaurant’s fan page—or even keeping an eye on the ads—can be a great way to stay in the loop when there’s a sale. (But if you don't love them, find out how to turn off creepy Facebook ads.) If a post shows a promo code and it works, lucky you! You just saved some cash. But be skeptical if you need to give personal information or create an account to unlock the savings. In some Facebook scams, a site poses at a real store but is phishing information. “Open a new browser tab and Google it,” says Velasquez. “Go to the source and see what’s going on.” If there’s a genuine promotion, you can bet the store’s official site will let you know.
Fundraisers
Particularly after a major tragedy, you’ll see plenty of ads and posts from charities offering to help the victims. While some of those fundraisers really will go to the people who need it, others could just be scammers preying on your caring spirit, says Levin. For one thing, clicking a link from those schemers could put malware on the computer. Worse? Your money won’t go to victims of the tragedy, but straight in the pocket of a crook. To keep your money safe, do a Google search of the site instead of clicking the Facebook post link, says Levin. Visit a site like Charity Navigator or GuideStar, which both rate nonprofits on how helpful they really are. Seek out a trusted charity instead of donating to the first you see advertised.
Secret Santa
It sounds like a great idea: Some stranger is setting up a “Secret Santa,” where you send one person a $10 gift, and three other people will send you one, too. But like those old snail mail lottery ticket chains, there’s no guarantee you’ll get your money back in these Facebook scams. If no one else follows through sending your gift, you might not get anything in return. “You just gave your home address to a stranger with a list of stuff you like,” says Velasquez. “Is the return really worth the investment?”
Suspicious tags
If a friend tags you and a handful of other friends in a public post, your first instinct might be to click the link, even if the video looks suspicious. After all, you trust your friend. But don’t be sure that it really was your friend who tagged you. A hacker got into their account and sends you to a site that asks you to download a Flash player update. You click the link … which immediately starts to download malware to your computer, leaving you vulnerable to identity and information theft. Beware of shortened links or sensational-sounding videos, which are red flags for spam posts, according to the Better Business Bureau.
Romantic interest
Be wary of friend requests from people you don’t know. Sometimes, the interactions start out innocently enough: The stranger on the other end is just looking for friends while on deployment and starts opening up, and the two of you swap personal stories. Pretty soon, you feel like “real” friends, and there even seems to be a romantic spark. So when they ask you for money, you jump at the chance to help this close friend. But the other person has been lying the whole time, working to gain your trust. Now that they have it, they’ll claim they need money for a made-up emergency that keeps snowballing and eventually wipes your bank account dry, according to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Never accept friend requests from strangers, and don’t send money to anyone—whether you know them in person or not—without verifying the situation.
The “you’ve been hacked” warning
With “cloning” of social media profiles becoming more popular, it makes sense to be aware that it might happen to you too. But don’t believe friends automatically. Reportedly, the same exact message has been sent to countless Facebook users, directly from another friend, but it’s a hoax: “Hi … I actually got another friend request from you yesterday … which I ignored so you may want to check your account. Hold your finger on the message until the forward button appears … then hit forward and all the people you want to forward too … I had to do the people individually. Good Luck!” While forwarding the message won’t spread malware, it does mean you’re unnecessarily swamping the inbox of everyone you know. Instead, search your own name for an identical account to yours, and ask friends if they’ve had any fishy requests from you. Report the fake profile if the warning is legitimate, and ignore the message if there doesn’t seem to be a threat.
Finding out who’s looked at your profile
Facebook has (and shares) a ton of your data, so it would make sense that it also would open the door to let you see who’s been clicking your profile. But that’s one line that Facebook won’t cross, according to its official stance. Even third-party apps don’t have the ability to track who’s been looking at you. If you do see an app that claims it can reveal who’s been watching you, report it as a fraud.
Messages from Mark Zuckerberg
If Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself sends you a message on the social media platform he co-founded, you’ll probably jump to see what he’s saying. But there are dozens of accounts posing as him and COO Sheryl Sandberg, so don’t buy it. The fake big-shots might claim you’ve won money in a “Facebook lottery” and need to send gift cards to claim your winnings. Sorry, but you won’t be getting that money back.
The threat to delete your account
Your stomach drops when you see a direct message or email from Facebook: Your account is being disabled. The message will probably include a link to recover your account, and the page it sends you to will ask for your login information and potentially other personal data. Never click a link without confirming if it’s true, or you could end up with malware, plus giving away your data if you answer the questions. Facebook won’t ask permission before disabling your account, so your best bet is to go straight to the site itself. Still able to log on? Great! Now delete that message. If your account really was taken down, follow the instructions on the site itself rather than clicking any links from the email.
- BBB. Scammers Use Facebook Tags to Spread Malware.
- Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Dating and Romance Scam: Georgina's Facebook Fiance Leaves Her Flat Broke.
- TIME. Worried Your Facebook Account Has Been Cloned? Here's What to Know About This New Hoax.
- Facebook. Can people tell that I've looked at their profile?
- Facebook. How do I report an app or game on Facebook?
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