{"id":132988,"date":"2024-03-26T06:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T13:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=132988"},"modified":"2024-06-19T07:16:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T14:16:40","slug":"quizzes-and-other-identity-theft-schemes-to-avoid-on-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/privacy-identity-protection\/quizzes-and-other-identity-theft-schemes-to-avoid-on-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Quizzes and Other Identity Theft Schemes to Avoid on Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before you take the\u00a0fun-looking\u00a0quiz that\u00a0popped\u00a0up in your social media feed, think twice. The person\u00a0holding the answers\u00a0may be a hacker.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where people go, hackers are sure to follow. So it\u2019s no surprise hackers have set up shop on social media. This has been the case for years, yet now social media-based crime is on the rise. Since 2021, total <\/span>reported losses to this type of fraud reached $2.7 billion<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among these losses are cases of identity theft<\/a>, where criminals use social media to gather personal information and build profiles of potential victims they can target. Just as we discussed in our recent blog, \u201c<\/span>Can thieves steal identities with only a name and address?<\/span><\/a>\u201d\u00a0these\u00a0bits of information are important pieces in\u00a0the larger jigsaw puzzle that is your overall identity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s\u00a0uncover these scams\u00a0these crooks use so that you can steer clear and stay safe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A quick look at some common social media scams<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Quizzes and surveys<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your spooky Halloween name?\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s your professional\u00a0wrestler\u00a0name?\u201d You\u2019ve probably seen a few of those and similar quizzes in your feed where you use\u00a0the street you grew up on, your birthdate,\u00a0your favorite song,\u00a0and maybe\u00a0the name of a beloved first pet\u00a0to cook up a silly name\u00a0or some other result.\u00a0Of course, these\u00a0are pieces of personal information, sometimes the answer to commonly used security questions by banks and other financial institutions. (Like, what was the model of your first car?)\u00a0With this info in hand, a hacker could attempt to gain access to your accounts.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, scammers will also post surveys with the offer of a gift card to a popular retailer. All you\u00a0have to\u00a0do is fork over your personal info. Of course, there\u2019s no gift card coming. Meanwhile, that scammer\u00a0now has some choice pieces of personal info that they can potentially use against you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How to avoid\u00a0them:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Simply put, don\u2019t take those quizzes and surveys online.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bogus benefits and get-rich-quick schemes<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

How to avoid\u00a0them:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Research any offer, business opportunity, or organization that reaches out to you. A good trick is to do a search of the organization\u2019s name plus the term \u201cscam\u201d or \u201creview\u201d or \u201ccomplaint\u201d to see if anything sketchy comes up.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Government imposter scams<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

If there\u2019s one government official that scammers like to use to scare you, it\u2019s the tax collector. These scammers will use social media messaging (and other mediums like emails, texts, and phone calls) to pose as an official who\u2019s either demanding back taxes or offering a refund or credit\u2014all of which are bogus and all of which involve you handing over your personal info, money, or both. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How to avoid\u00a0them:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Delete the message. In the U.S., the IRS\u00a0and other government agencies\u00a0will\u00a0<\/span>never<\/span><\/b> reach out to you in this way or\u00a0ask you for your personal information.\u00a0Likewise, they won\u2019t demand payment via wire transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.\u00a0Only scammers\u00a0will.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Friends and family imposter scams<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

These are far more targeted than the scams listed above because they\u2019re targeted and often rely upon specific information about you and your family. Thanks to social media, scammers can gain access to that info and use it against you. One example is the \u201cgrandkid scam\u201d where a hacker impersonates a grandchild and asks a grandparent for money. Similarly, there are family emergency scams where a bad actor sends a message that a family member was in an accident or arrested and needs money quickly. In all, they rely on a phony story that often involves someone close to you who\u2019s in need or trouble.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How to avoid\u00a0them:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Take a deep breath and\u00a0confirm the situation. Reach out to the person in question or another friend or family member\u00a0to see if there really\u00a0is a concern. Don\u2019t jump to pay right away.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The romance con<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

This is one of the most targeted attacks of all\u2014the con artist who strikes up an online relationship\u00a0to bilk a\u00a0victim out of money.\u00a0Found everywhere from\u00a0social media sites\u00a0to dating apps to online forums, this scam\u00a0involves\u00a0creating a phony profile and a phony story to go with it. From there, the\u00a0scammer will\u00a0communicate several times a day, perhaps talking about their\u00a0exotic\u00a0job\u00a0in some exotic location. They\u2019ll build trust along the way and eventually ask\u00a0the victim\u00a0to wire money or purchase gift cards.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How to avoid\u00a0them:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Bottom line,\u00a0if someone you\u2019ve never met in person asks you for money online, it\u2019s a good bet that it\u2019s a scam.\u00a0Don\u2019t do it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Protecting yourself from identity theft and scams on social media<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Now with an idea of what the bad actors are up to out there, here\u2019s a quick rundown of things you can do to protect yourself further from the social media scams they\u2019re trying to pull.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Use strict privacy settings.<\/span><\/b> First up, set your social media profile to private so that only approved friends and family members can access it.\u00a0McAfee’s Social Media Privacy Manager<\/a> can easily help you do this. This will circulate less of your personal information in public. However, consider anything you do or post on social media as public information. (Plenty of people can still see it, copy it, and pass it along.) Likewise, pare back the information you provide in your profile, like your birthday, the high school you attended, and so on. The less you put out there, the less a scammer can use against you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Be a skeptic.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0You could argue that this applies to staying safe online in general.\u00a0So many scams rely on our innate willingness to share\u00a0stories, help\u00a0others, or simply talk about\u00a0what\u2019s going on in our lives. This willingness could lower your guard\u00a0when a scammer comes calling. Instead, try to look at the messages you receive beyond face value. Does something seem unusual about the language or request? What could be the motivation behind it? Pausing and considering questions like these could\u00a0spare\u00a0some headaches.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Know your friends.<\/span><\/b> How well do you know everyone on your list of friends and followers? Even with your privacy settings set to the max, these people will see what you\u2019re posting online. Being selective about who you invite into that private circle of yours can limit the amount of personal information people have immediate access to via your posts, tweets, and updates. However, if you like having a larger list of\u00a0friends and followers, be aware\u00a0that\u00a0any personal info you share\u00a0is effectively being broadcast on\u00a0a small\u00a0scale\u2014potentially to people you don\u2019t really know well at all.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Follow up.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Get a message from a \u201cfriend\u201d that seems a little spammy or just plain weird? Or maybe you get something that sounds like an imposter scam, like the ones we outlined above? Follow up with them using another means of communication other than the social media account that sent the message.\u00a0See what\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>really<\/span><\/i>\u00a0going on.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Look out for each other.<\/span><\/b> Much like following up, looking out for each other means letting friends know about that strange message you received or a friend request from a potentially duplicate account. By speaking up, you may be giving them the first sign that their account (and thus a portion of their identity) has been compromised. Likewise, it also means talking about\u00a0that online flame with each other, how it\u2019s going, and, importantly if that \u201cspecial someone\u201d has stooped to asking for money.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Stay steps ahead of the scams on social media<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Above and\u00a0beyond what we\u2019ve covered so far, some online protection basics can keep you safer still.\u00a0<\/span>Comprehensive online protection software<\/span><\/a>\u00a0will help you create strong, unique passwords for all your accounts, help you keep from clicking links to malicious sites,\u00a0and\u00a0prevent\u00a0you from downloading malware. Moreover, it can provide you with\u00a0<\/span>identity protection services<\/span><\/a>\u00a0like ours, which\u00a0keep\u00a0your personal info private\u00a0with around-the-clock\u00a0monitoring of your email addresses and bank accounts with up to $1M of ID theft insurance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Together, with some good protection and a sharp eye, you can avoid those identity theft scams floating around on social media\u2014and get back to enjoying time spent online with your true family and friends.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Before you take the\u00a0fun-looking\u00a0quiz that\u00a0popped\u00a0up in your social media feed, think twice. The person\u00a0holding the answers\u00a0may be a hacker.\u00a0 Where…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1408,"featured_media":186841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[11368,6144],"coauthors":[15741],"class_list":["post-132988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-privacy-identity-protection","tag-identity-theft-schemes","tag-social-media-scams"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nQuizzes and Other Identity Theft Schemes to Avoid on Social Media | McAfee Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Before you take the\u00a0fun-looking\u00a0quiz that\u00a0popped\u00a0up in your social media feed, think twice. 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The list here is long. These include posts and direct messages about\u00a0<\/span>phony relief funds<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>grants<\/span><\/a>, and giveaways\u2014along with\u00a0<\/span>bogus business opportunities<\/span><\/a> that run the gamut from thinly veiled pyramid schemes and gifting circles to mystery shopper jobs. What they all have in common is that they\u2019re run by scammers who want your information, money, or both. If this sounds familiar, like those old emails about transferring funds for a prince in some faraway nation, it is. Many of these scams simply made the jump from email to social media platforms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n