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Five tips for spotting and avoiding social media scams

22 Jan 2025

Staying safe online isn't getting any easier, with fraudsters finding new ways to scam people on social media. 

Here are five tips to stay safe online and spot the social media scammers.

 

1. Does the social media page/profile look suspicious?

You've spotted a Facebook post offering a free holiday to Ibiza - great! But the page which posted it only has one post and a handful of followers. Hmm, something is not quite right there. 

Scam pages tend to pop up out of nowhere and often imitate well known companies and even celebrities in order to lure in unsuspecting victims. However, there are a few signs that they are not the real deal, such as a low number of friends/followers and only one or two posts on the page. Real company and celebrity pages will tend to have high numbers of followers and many years worth of posts available to see on their page.

 

2. Check out the comments section for clues

Often, scammers will make fake profiles and comment on their own posts in an attempt to make the offer look real. However, checking the profiles of those who have commented will often show that the profiles are new and have only a couple of friends.

Comments may all look very similar, and may be very positive - scam pages often limit comments to avoid people warning others that the page is fraudulent.

 

3. Watch out for suspicious links

Scam pages will often post a link to click to enter their giveaway or prize draw. Whatever you do, do not click the link! Links can be a way for scammers to "phish" and gain access to your account, your phone or your computer.

That goes for links sent by your friends too, as scammers are known to "hack" social media profiles and send links to that person's friends in order to gain access to their accounts. So if your old friend from school sends a message out of the blue telling you to check out an amazing offer/deal/discount, be very wary. It may be an imposter.

 

4. Is the competition mentioned on an official website for the business?

If businesses are running a competition they will usually mention it on their official website, and have a way of entering there.

You can also contact them directly via their official website to confirm if any competitions, offers, or giveaways you spot on social media are real. So if you spot someone on social media claiming to be giving away prizes on behalf of Stagecoach you can contact us to let us know.

 

5. Got any doubts? Report it.

Staying safe online requires a lot of vigilance, and you can help keep others safe by reporting what you've seen. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X have reporting functions which can be used to quickly report suspicious posts, pages and profiles. If it looks a bit suspicious, report it.