The Growing Trend of Social Media Scams and How to Prevent Oneself While Shopping Online
No surprises there, most of us rely on social media for navigating through brand profiles and making purchases. Apparently, this looks counterintuitive, but post-Covid people are actually relying on online shopping.
But do you know that the experts warn about social media being a primary ground for conducting cyber fraud?
Yes, this is true. Back in 2017, just around 5000 people reported being scammed out of $42 million on fraud systems carried out on social media. Then, by 2021, around 100,000 people reported being scammed and losing $770 million.
Well, these numbers are disturbing as this revelation underscores the efficiency with which fraudsters use these platforms to target shoppers looking for lucrative deals.
Fake business pages, social media ads, and counterfeit stores have become prevalent, and they pose a significant threat to people who are looking for getting good products and services at less prices. Also, the lack of adequate information is one of the reasons for the potential dangers of social media scams.
What is the way to prevent yourself from the surging social media purchase scam?
If you did not become prey to scams today, then it does not mean that you never will. Anyone can be scammed unless he has enough understanding to juxtapose a legitimate online business and a fake one.
First and foremost, to be on the safe side, you must also buckle up at your end to avoid being scammed online. For example, the least yet the most important thing that you can do is browse through a secure and reliable internet.
If you have no idea about which ISP to trust, then you must do your research and find some of the most credible ISPs, such as Mediacom. Mediacom is one of the most credible internet service providers in the States that offers the best internet deals. Also, if you are a Spanish speaker, you may check the best Mediacom internet precio, specifically designed for you.
Anyway, here is a comprehensive list of the questions you should ask yourself as a buyer before making a purchase on a social media platform to avoid being scammed:
Is the Deal So Good to be True?
An old saying goes like this, “Not everything that glitters is gold.” Well, you have to feed this to your mind and recall this religiously every time when you are lured into online deals. If a deal on social media appearing on your feed is so good to be true, then you have got to take this as a warning sign.
Anything that is displayed at a low price on social media is indicative of a potential scam; therefore, you must avoid troubling yourself by making a purchase. Nothing can better tell you about the legitimacy of the deal than your instinct and rational thinking. If your brain and instinct tell you that this can’t be true, then it would not be.
How Long This Business is On Social Media?
One of the most important and easy-to-understand factors is checking the credibility and authenticity of the online business. Look at the social media posts, check the number of posts, how frequently they post on their pages, and the number of followers. Also, check when they made their first-ever post.
If the business is fairly new, has fewer followers, and has minimal engagement, then the page is fake, which is trying to imitate an established business, or they may copy posts from multiple established businesses to create an exclusive identity out of a mix.
How Does the URL look?
The social media page of the business may have a link to its website in the description. You may check and verify the credibility of the website from the URL. Hover the cursor over the URL without clicking it and you will get adequate information to understand where this link may land you.
Also, you may conduct a Google search of the brand name and check if the URL of the official site is the same as the URL mentioned on social media. It is recommended to check the URLs carefully as scammers create URLs that closely resemble legitimate ones. Check the URL character by character.
What are the Modes of Payment?
One of the key indicators of a scam is the mode of payment that the online business accepts. If the social media page asks you to make a payment through a bank transfer, then you must know that it is not a legitimate business. You must always prefer making payments through PayPal or credit cards, which are secure modes of payment.
What are the Reviews on the Online Page?
Online reviews are the most useful resource to determine the credibility of a social media page. Go to the page and check engagement and comments on the posts. If you find few or no comments, then it must be suspicious. Also, if people do not attest to the quality or credibility of the business in their comment section, you must avoid making any sort of purchase.
Bottom Line
Since social media has become a favorite spot for fraudsters to hunt down people looking for deals, it has become paramount to look for deals on official sites and legitimate social media pages. We have listed some of the things that you must check ahead of trusting an online business which helps you avoid getting scammed.
