Staying Safe With Winzum: Social Media Scams

Winzum was created out of a passion for doing online competitions the right way. For us, that means exciting, inventive, and unique prizes alongside watertight security and customer satisfaction. We stand completely against data farmers and nasty scammers simply looking to con you out of your data and money - it’s just not how we roll.

Unfortunately, scammers on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram often use giveaways or raffles to trick people into handing over personal data. Tesco recently sounded the alarm over Facebook scams offering food vouchers in exchange for liking or sharing posts. It’s something you need to be aware of nowadays, otherwise, you could end up in danger.

Winzum is committed to helping our community in any way possible, so we decided to start a “Staying Safe with Winzum” series to outline some of the most prevalent dangers. The scary world of online data farming is difficult to appreciate without adequate knowledge, especially as it usually isn’t that noticeable. Once you understand the basics, scammers will be a lot easier to spot.

Social media scams are some of the most dangerous 21st century cyber threats to be aware of. They prey on our innocence and eagerness to win prizes, but unlike Winzum, all you’ll get from these fraudulent competitions is compromised online and data security. But don’t worry; we’re here to help. Stay with us as we explore the basics of social media scams and how to spot them.

What Are Social Media Scams?

Typically, social media scams trick people into engaging with a post or event to enter a fraudulent competition. Scammers pose as legitimate companies, creating official-looking Facebook or Instagram pages to draw people in. For instance, you may have seen a fake British Airways page offering free flights or a fake Tesco account offering free food vouchers.

These nasty scammers target unwitting people across several channels, but the main ones currently are Facebook and Instagram. Generally, they advertise entry to a competition when you share a post, leave a comment, or like a page. Additionally, some scammers want people to click “Going” on a Facebook event or install an application.

One of the dangers of social media scams is that people don’t realise how much simple online activities can put their data at risk. Protecting your personal data is an online security basic, so you need to know how social media scams can jeopardise this.

What Do Social Media Scammers Want?

The main thing social media scammers are after is your personal data. In more brazen cases, they go after your money directly through bogus investment schemes or get rich quick programs. These are easier to spot but can be a lot more dangerous.

Nevertheless, even a simple data breach can have catastrophic consequences. Scammers can use things like your name, address, or date of birth to try and hack into bank accounts or other sensitive user accounts.

Additionally, Facebook data farming scammers can sell personal information to third parties. This results in spam calls and emails in the best cases or full-blown bank fraud in the worst. Another reason your personal data on social media platforms is valuable is due to advertising. The more somebody knows about you, the more they can target your profile with specific adverts.

The Most Common Social Media Scams

Social media scams come in several different forms. Fortunately, most of them use similar techniques, so they can be straightforward to spot. You can find the most common below:

• “Like/Share/Comment” to Enter: Fake social media competitions ask people to like, share, or comment on a post to enter. In doing so you may unknowingly disclose personal information while boosting the post’s ranking so it appears to more people. These are typically run from pages posing as official organisations. Watch out for red flags like a small number of followers or other suspicious details.
• Click Here to Win: Social media scammers sometimes ask people to “Click Here” to win. This could lead you directly to a dangerous site where your data is at risk. Alternatively, it could prompt you to fill in a survey or data form. Both can be dangerous.
• Is This You?: A particularly nasty social media scam aims to prey on our curiosity and worries. You may see a post along the lines of “Is This You?” or “I Can’t Believe You Did That”. Once you click on it, you will be redirected to a site that can hack into your Facebook or Instagram account and relay the post from your profile.
• Shocking News: Have you ever seen a Facebook post or advert with a sensationalist news headline or shocking image? These can pique our curiosity, but be careful not to click on them. Just like the previous social media scam, doing so leaves your profile open to hacking.
• Social Media Add-Ons: While there are plenty of legitimate social media add-ons, many are fraudulent. For example, an add-on that claims to uncover who’s unfollowed you on Instagram may just be a way for a scammer to hack your profile or steal your personal data.

Why You Must Keep Careful Online

Staying safe online is critical nowadays. Criminals are constantly looking for new ways to scam innocent people out of their data and money, so we all need to be one step ahead. Scammers could use your data to try and take credit cards or loans out in your name. Even worse, they could attempt a huge money transfer if they manage to get into your bank account.

And it’s not just adults that are at risk. Teaching kids about online safety is also crucial, especially as they use social media more and more. So, next time you are on Facebook or Instagram, keep a few of the things we’ve explored in mind. They will help you massively.

Winzum: Fighting For A More Transparent & Safe Online Reality

Winzum is more than just an exciting online competition platform. Alongside our work with charities and local communities, we’re also fighting for a safer and fairer online world. Our commitment to absolutely no spam is a central part of this, as is our watertight website designed with strict SSL encryption to keep your data secure.

Our “Staying Safe with Winzum” series seeks to help our community stay safe in all areas, so keep an eye out for more!