Have you ever wondered how easily people get scammed on Facebook? Are you one of them? Facebook is one of the popular social media that most people spend time on. So, it’s a hotspot for scammers, data breaches, and threats. Worrying about your privacy or getting scammed? Don’t worry you are in the right place to know about the most common Facebook scams and tips to keep yourself safe in 2023.
Recent surveys show that one in every six people is scammed or faces cybercrime threats. This risk is a direct outcome of the advanced popularity of Facebook.
But make sure you read this blog till the end because it will give you a rollercoaster ride into the world of Facebook scams.
So, What Are The Most Common Facebook Scams Of 2023?
You’ll be surprised to know that some of the common scams you will read below might have been encountered by you at least once in your life. Of course, you might also get scammed by these tricks but consider yourself lucky if you haven’t because this enlightening information that you are going to read will make you vigilant and cautious of these tricky scams.
With technological advancement, Facebook has become one of the most popular social networking sites. But with popularity comes a constant threat of getting scammed on this popular platform.
Highly technical and innovative cyber criminals carry out these scams. They leave no stone unturned in trying to scam you in new and unknown ways. These scams are primarily targeted toward getting your account login details, personal information, or bank and credit card information.
Some of the typical Facebook scams in today’s times are:
1. Lottery Scams
Getting excited about winning a prize is normal, but you should prevent yourself from drowning in the emotions of excitement. Because in 2023, not every prize you win is authentic!
These scammers are pros in playing with your emotions and using them against you. Because here, they try to use your excitement for their ill intentions. They may disguise themselves as celebrities or big brands so that you trust them and manipulate you with an irresistible prize.
They will ask you for a small amount for shipping by scanning a QR code or entering your card details. And they reach their aim of gaining your banking credentials, and your bank account ends up getting empty.
2. Job Scams
Everybody wants to gain a good and secure job, and cyber criminals are misusing this need. The aim behind creating these fake job opportunities is to extract your personal information.
They will ask for your personal details like phone number, banking credentials, address, card details, etc. All this is cleverly done to steal your identity, and you end up getting stuck in a financial mess.
3. Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are almost everywhere these days. And come in disguise of fake emails that lead you to a fake Facebook link and try to extract your personal information.
They aim to make you log in to your Facebook account on the spoofed website to get your login credentials. This can happen in many ways; they might fool you by saying that you need to reset your account as it has been disabled due to security reasons.
These cybercriminals try different and unique tactics to get your login information. For example, they may try to misuse your Facebook account once they gain access to it or may try to get your banking credentials. Now, even Facebook messenger is used as a source to send links for these phishing scams.
4. Manipulative Or Catfishing Scams
This new tactic is bizarre and comes as an outcome of the modern era and its ways. These scams include pretense where an unknown person on Facebook may try to flirt with you or woo you to attain his target. They may also pretend to have gone through a traumatic relationship to play with your sentiments. The sole aim behind these tricks is to manipulate you by playing with your emotions and trust.
This is a long process because these scammers try to build trust and attachment with you through chats, texts, calls, etc. Instead, they ask you for money by influencing your thoughts and emotions and showing fake affection.
5. Charity Or Fundraiser Scams
There are so many fundraisers that you might have seen on Facebook and other social networking sites. These fundraisers are mostly seen being done for disaster-stricken areas, war-struck countries, etc. People, out of generosity and kindness, contribute to these causes.
But there are many cyber scams that take advantage of such an unfortunate and severe situation to feed their ill intentions. They create fake charity pages, promote them everywhere, and take up all the funds for their personal gains.
6. Facebook Games And Quizzes Scam
There are many quizzes on Facebook that people participate in because they find them interesting. But little do you know that scammers frame these quizzes to extract their personal information. The “getting to know you better” and “just fun” quizzes are examples of such scams.
7. Fake Friend Requests Scam
Fake friend requests are a scam that is faced by almost everyone on Facebook. This involves getting a friend request from someone you know. But this someone is the fake profile created by a scammer in a way that you completely believe to be a person of your familiarity.
This enables the scammer or hacker to have access to your personal data and might involve you in other scams as well.
8. Online Shopping Scams
Facebook has developed into an advanced e-commerce platform where people set up their businesses and attract the target audience. This is done by creating a business page and promoting the products through posts and sponsorships.
Scammers use this e-commerce growth to fool the audience and extract money from them. They might create a fake Facebook page with cheap products and take orders with money while they end up delivering nothing. In the end, they disappear with your money and leave you guilty.
9. Suspicious Links Scam
Getting suspicious links that mention things like you being in a video will definitely bring shivers down your spine. These links might be sent to you through texts, and once you click on them, the malware automatically gets downloaded to your device.
This is, again, a very malicious tactic used by scammers to extract your personal information. And through this malware, these scammers may get full access to your data on the device.
10. Discounts And Coupons Scam
Getting a coupon or a discount is the most fantastic thing that a person can get. But this happiness is also used maliciously by scammers. They provide you with fake coupons through bogus apps, which is actually a trojan horse.
Once you install these apps to avail yourself of discounts, it infects your device with malware which helps the scammer extract all the data on your device and gain access to your accounts.
What Are The Most Recent Facebook Scams?
- A Facebook user, in 2019 was scammed by an online shopping page on Facebook, which offered a discount of getting six storage boxes free for buying one storage box. The website did send them the parcel but it was totally different from what she had ordered. And when she tried to contact them, there was no reply. These scammers had done the same thing to a large number of customers before as well.
- Facebook faced worse data exposures thrice in 2019. This exposure affected 267 to 600 million users which on average means that 469 users were affected per incident.
- Social media abuse has risen by a huge 200% since 2018.
- Identity theft through emails on Facebook has increased by 10% since 2019.
- According to reports, there are more than 275 million duplicate accounts on Facebook and almost 300 million monthly active users were fake accounts.
Things To Watch Out for While Using Facebook
Don’t get worried by the long list of these scams!
Because every problem comes with a solution, and so does this one.
These are the things that you need to take care of while using Facebook in these scamming times:
1. Opt For Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication helps you to prevent your account from unwanted logins. Because if anyone tries to log in to your account, apart from entering the username and password, he will also have to enter the one-time code. This code would be sent to you through SMS or email.
Follow these steps to set up two-factor authentication on your Facebook account:
- Open the Facebook app on your device.
- Select the square-shaped icon present on the top-right corner of your screen.
- Then select settings and privacy> settings> security and login.
- Scroll down and select two-factor authentication, and tap on edit.
- Follow the steps as guided to successfully set up two-factor authentication.
2. Change Your Privacy Settings
You need to make your account as private as possible, and your personal data should be visible to only those people who are on your friend list.
Follow these steps to change your privacy settings:
- Open the Facebook app on your device.
- Select the hamburger icon (square-shaped) present on the top-right corner of your screen.
- Then select settings and privacy from the drop-down list.
- Go to settings and select the privacy checkup option.
- Follow the guidelines given by Facebook to complete your privacy checkup.
3. Do Not Accept Unknown Friend Requests
Make sure you do not add any suspicious account as your friend and decline the unknown friend requests as well. Because connecting with unknown people on such a diverse and scam-prone platform is risky and dangerous.
The more unknowns you add to your Facebook, the more risk there is of getting scammed.
4. Do Not Reply To Suspicious Messages
You should not reply to any messages from unknown people, especially those that ask you for money or personal information. And if someone is pleading for help, then you should first verify and research their background and then do the needful.
5. Do Not Click On The Suspicious Links
You should refrain from clicking on any suspicious link that has been sent to you. If it is sent by a friend, do proper research on such links before clicking on them.
You should also delete any emails containing these suspicious links for your security and safety.
6. Keep A Constant Check On Your Login History
You should keep a constant check on your Facebook login history so that your account stays safe and secure.
To do so, follow the below-given steps:
- Open the Facebook app on your device.
- Tap on the square-shaped icon on the top right corner of your screen.
- Select settings and privacy> settings> security and login.
- Scroll down and go to Where you’re logged in.
- Delete any suspicious logins and make your account secure.
7. Shop From A Verified Brand
Do not shop from unknown sources or brands, especially those present on Facebook. You should keep yourself and your data safe from scammers by strictly shopping from known and verified brands.
The verified brands on Facebook will definitely have a blue tick on their profile. And that is where you have to shop.
Conclusion
Scams on Facebook are increasing at an alarming rate, and everyone is at risk of getting scammed in one way or other. So, one should be cautious while using Facebook as these scams can prove to be very dangerous.
These scammers are cybercriminals who pose a threat to your personal information, data, banking credentials, etc. They use unknown and strange tactics to extract and misuse your information.
FAQs Related to Facebook Scams
How to report a Facebook scam?
Facebook makes reporting easier as there is always a report option available on every Facebook post. All you have to do is click on the three dots on any post and select the report option. Then follow the steps to complete your reporting procedure.
How to protect yourself from a Facebook scam?
You need to be very careful while avoiding Facebook scams. You should not shop from unknown and unverified brands, refrain from replying to or accepting friend requests of strange people, and prevent yourself from clicking on suspicious links. Follow these tips to stay safe on Facebook.
What type of information would a scammer want?
The scammer, through disguise, may ask you for your personal details, banking information, credit card information, account details, and other types of personal information. They may also ask for money through fake fundraisers.
