Common Social Media Scams & Steps You Can Take to Keep Your Customers & Yourself Safe
We’ve been working with a number of our clients, providing them with awareness and actionable steps they can take against the rise of social media scams. In particular, we’ve been alerting our clients about a scammer impersonating Meta Business Support. They’ve been sending our clients messages, claiming they need login credentials in order to resolve an issue with the account. Let’s look at the typical scams that are currently circulating, as well as what you can do to help protect your business, your customers and yourself.
Common Facebook Scams Targeting Businesses & Their Customers
A particular scam we’ve seen our clients experience first-hand is a scammer impersonating Facebook using social hacking, in an attempt to steal login credentials via Facebook Messenger and emails. Here’s an article describing this type of scam in more detail.
Here are more articles on social media scams to be aware of…
17 Facebook Scams You Need to Take Seriously
Facebook Page Recovery Scammers
Hacked Facebook Pages Buying Ads
The Latest Social Media Scams and How to Identify
Steps You Can Take to Keep Your Customers & Yourself Safe:
- Regardless of what a scammer is claiming, first, do NOT click on any link they have provided you with.
- Do not download files or software coming from people you don’t know.
- Don’t answer/report messages that ask for your password, social insurance number or financial information.
- Do your own research by digging into your Facebook account directly, logging in to your admin page to view any errors or issues with your page.
- For businesses, you can enable Business notifications, so you’ll be alerted of any changes happening within your Meta Business Manager Account. More here.
For Additional Security:
- Use a password manager, such as LastPass, as it won’t enter your credentials into a fake site.
- Use a hardware security key, such as the LastPass Authenticator app, which is used as a 2nd form of authentication or as a Multi-Factor Authentication.
- Use trusted antivirus software and remember that it’s important to keep this software up to date and scan your devices for malware regularly.
Here’s MORE on avoiding scams on Facebook, as well as how to report a fake Facebook account or page.
In conclusion, we all have or will be at some point, the object of someones’ social media scam. The good news is that because it’s so common, there are lots of resources out there on how to protect yourself and your business against these fraudulent actions. Karma, anyone??
