Facebook Fraud
Here at BlackBoxSocialMedia we’ve seen our fair share of Facebook scams and Facebook fraud. Unfortunately the internet has attracted predators, hackers, and con-artists since its first innovation. The worldwide web can be a potential playground for law-breakers, for God’s sakes there’s an entire industry dedicated to stopping these cyber criminals from infecting your computer with viruses.
However, there is nothing more attractive to these than a newly popularized form of online technology like Facebook where the number of potential scams is endless. We’ve always try to keep you up to date with new threats in the social media circuit so that you can take preventative measures from being a victim. This new form of Facebook fraud is somewhat hard to detect, so read on and pay attention to detail to protect yourself and more importantly your personal information on Facebook.
Facebook Fraud | The Scam
I’m sure most of you are a part of at least one group on Facebook, whether it be a church group, comic book page, dating network, or professional page and this is predominately where Facebook fraud occurs. A lot of these groups are somewhat small especially if it is a local page or if it revolves around a niche interest or profession. Therefore, you probably don’t think twice about receiving friend requests from people who are associated with the group, especially if the message looks something like this:
“I was referred to you by Father Jim.” Or “Susan suggested that I give you a call.”
These two manipulative requests were shared on Yahoo Finance’s article on Facebook fraud. Online cons realize that we sometimes add friends on Facebook that we don’t necessarily remember specifically and are even more inclined to do so if they are referred by a friend. Facebook fraud is such an easy way for criminals to either sabotage your personal network or find out very personal information about your life. No one can deny that some people posting habits are on auto-pilot, information is often shared without concern for consequence. Think Congressman Weiner.
Social media users need to also be aware that even though this article is centered around Facebook fraud, similar online fraud incidents are popping up on Twitter, Linkedin, and eHarmony as well.
Facebook Fraud | What To Beware Of
Facebook fraud can obviously be avoided by not accepting people that you don’t know as friends, however most of these criminals pose as “friends of friends,” which makes it difficult to pinpoint who is out to do you harm. Once you add one of these phony friends, you may receive a message from them about some sort of investment opportunity. Here’s an example so that you can spot out Facebook fraud:
“A con artist can take advantage of how easily people share background and personal information online by using this information to make a highly targeted pitch to friends within that social group,” said David Massey, North Carolina’s Deputy Securities Administrator and President of NASAA. “Just because someone has friended you online doesn’t mean that person is your friend when it comes to investing.”
Facebook Fraud | Identifying Fradulent Investments
Yahoo graciously provided us with some tips to identify fraudulent investments to prevent Facebook fraud. Here’s what to look for:
• Lack of public information. If you’re offered an investment that’s not listed on a major stock exchange (anything that can’t be looked up on Yahoo Finance), insist on seeing the prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If there isn’t one, walk away.
• Promises of high returns with little or no risk
• Sense of urgency. (“I can only leave this deal open for you until the end of the week”; “this opportunity won’t last”; “there are a limited number of shares”)
• Request for payment through e-currency web sites.
• Testimonials from “satisfied” investors
• Hard-to-verify information — i.e. “this investment is registered but it’s registered with securities regulators in Bermuda, rather than the U.S.”
Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net