SCAMMERS - FRAUDSTERS -
SWINDLERS AND BLACKMAILERS
Stes de Necker
If you have been on Facebook or any other Social Media for any length of time, then you know full well how scam and spam laden the site can be and using the Social Media as a means for communication is becoming more and more treacherous as scams running through the site have become more intricate and much harder to detect.
Scammers love crowds, and there isn’t one bigger than Facebook. Just the sheer number of potential targets attracts these cyber criminals like a moth is drawn to a flame. It’s important to be aware of this fact and to realize that by just being on Facebook, you are already a target.
Facebook now has an estimated 1.8 billion users, with more people joining every day.
The Social Media has become the criminal’s paradise!
Thieves and scammers have been around since the beginning of Social Media, but these days their tools are more sophisticated than ever. If you have money, valuables or even just good credit, you can bet that there are lots of criminals and thieves who would do anything to steal it right out of your hands.
Most of these criminality are no longer operated by individual fraudsters. Fraud and blackmail is an international phenomenon, operated by highly sophisticated international syndicates and cartels. These syndicates are powerful and well equipped and the criminals are dangerous and ruthless. Human life means nothing to them. They would do ANYTHING to reach their objectives; even kill for that matter.
There are countless schemes and scams on Facebook and the creativity and deceptive tactics of these criminals are always evolving and changing, but you can bet your pretty dollar that wherever there is a scam, someone from West Africa will be involve.
Certainly the most corrupt of them all is Nigeria, followed closely by Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea.
So whenever you receive a ‘friend request’ or meet anyone with any connection to these countries, be careful, be very careful!
ALWAYS REMEMBER, ONLY A CRIMINAL CAN THINK LIKE A CRIMINAL - HONEST PEOPLE CANNOT.
Where most of us have our work to do every day, these criminals have twenty four hours a day to think out new schemes and criminal activities. They’re not stupid. On the contrary, these are highly intelligent individuals whose only purpose in life is to get rich of unsuspected people and suckers like you and me.
But here's the good news. Identifying and stopping scammers really isn't as tough as it may seem - as long as you know what to watch out for and to protect yourself.
Most of these criminals are not sneaking around under the cover of darkness like most thieves do. They have to put themselves out in the open. And that is there weak point.
If Social Media members are diligent and on the watch out, everyone can avoid falling victim to these unscrupulous crooks and criminals.
These scammers literally have thousands of ways to trick you online and offline.
Even the most tech-savvy, on-guard person can fall victim to one of these scams. They’re currently trending on Facebook but that doesn’t mean they aren’t happening on other Social Networks also.
The key to avoiding such scams is to stay alert, refrain from being impulsive, and double-check every link you click.
Modern scammers understand that technology moves fast. Often, it moves so fast that most folks miss out on the latest angles designed to part you from your hard-earned money.
Breaking News Stories – Anytime a major news story breaks, keep your guard up. Scammers love to trick unsuspecting users with promises of “exclusive coverage.”
Scams can spread Wall to Wall between users by click-jacking and like-jacking attacks, rogue applications and Fake Events, etc. Scammers will exploit any method they can, and sometimes can be quite creative. A common end game is a survey scam, but others are more malicious in their intent. Many users have received trojans, viruses and other malware infestations by falling victim to scams on Facebook.
What should you do if you receive a friend request from someone you don’t know, or if your own account is spoofed?
Here are a few tips if you should happen to come across this situation:
Always double check friend requests: Don’t just automatically click “accept” for new requests. Take a few moments to look over the profile and verify that account is a real person, not a scam.
Scan your list of current Friends to see if any show up twice (the newer account is going to be the scam one).
As a rule, most celebrities aren't going to friend you on Facebook. And even if they do, they aren't going to give you golden money-making opportunities that involve you sending them money first.
Don’t blindly trust friends’ recommendations: Just because a link, video, or other information is shared by a friend doesn’t mean that it’s safe to click. It could be a fake account, a hacker, or mean that your friend hasn’t done his or her research.
Watch for poor grammar: Scam Facebook posts are often riddled with typos and poor English.
Alert your friends: If your Facebook friend suddenly starts posting links to work-at-home schemes or scandalous celebrity videos, tell him or her directly about the suspicious activity. Otherwise, they may never know that their account has been impersonated.
Report fake accounts to Facebook: Facebook does not allow accounts that are pretending to be someone else.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET SUCKERED
If, for some reason, you fall for any scam, make sure to remove any references to it from your profile and delete any bad app that has attached itself to your Facebook account.
Do that by going to the small arrow on the top right of your screen, then Account Settings>>>Apps.
Also, check whether you may have unknowingly "Liked" bogus sites or pages by going to your Timeline and clicking your "Likes" icon at the top of the page.
Any Likes you don't recognize? Unlike them.
For more information about the various ways you can get scammed on Facebook, visit the social network’s scam page.
These and other security tips can be found on Facebook’s security page (http://www.facebook.com/security).
Knowledge is the only way to win!!
The only thing we can really do to protect ourselves is to match the scammers’ determination with vigilance and education about these scams and a healthy amount of suspicion towards anyone asking for money.
To assist my friends on Facebook and to play my part in the combating of these cyber crimes, I have decided to open a Facebook Group Page , SCAMMERS - FRAUDSTERS - SWINDLERS AND BLACKMAILERS, where I will attempt, with your help and participation, to keep you informed of scams and fraudulent schemes which appear on Facebook.
In future I will publish as much information as possible about existing and potentially new criminal scams and activities as they appear.
Your active participation in sharing also your experiences and knowledge on this issue will assist greatly in combating and preventing these crimes.
And if you don’t want yourself identified for whatever reason, you can even contribute anonymously!
HOPE TO HEARING FROM YOU SOON!
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