Scammers have moved to social media spaces and hundreds if not thousands are scammed on a daily. According to the Austrian Competition and consumer commission, over one hundred fifty cases of scams have been reported so far. Scammers have taken social media by storm and these scams spare not even the elites.
Surprising many a user have led the way into being scammed and others continue to share these scams with their social circles not knowing the kind of trouble that awaits.
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Since many people do prefer having things on a silver plate and want to have even what they don’t qualify for, this leaves most of us potential victims of social media scams. And if you haven’t been scammed yet, count yourself lucky and be cautious too as your time may not have come yet.
Scams to watch out for.
Data scams. Someone has or may share a message of a telecom company that is awarding free data to its customers. The amount of data is usually unimaginable and it may force you to press on the link. Here you could be asked to fill in some details and later share the same message with your groups or contacts before you receive the offer. Oops! all done and no data is added onto your account. You have been scammed.
Scholarship scams: These usually target outgoing school pupils/students. Yes, you are looking for someone to sponsor your education and the scammers know this too. Usually, these are fully-funded opportunities to study abroad. Be careful before you make any payments or fill in your details as this could be a scam.
Employment scams: Tired of job hunting and here is an opportunity for you to work at the UN! No paperwork is needed just a few academic documents and a valid identity card. Before you get excited, make sure it’s no scam.
Impersonation: Someone out there is passing on as someone else. They work in a certain office and are willing to help you out with all the paperwork you need before you get that dream job. This could as well be a scammer.
How to avoid being scammed
Sometimes it’s quite hard to beat these scams. If it looks so good to be true or underrated, kindly crosscheck and juxtapose facts from the original website or social platforms of these institutions offering such opportunities. If nothing relates to what you were earlier informed in a scam message, then STOP! that is certainly a scam.
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