Social Media Scams
Each holiday season you can count on social media scams showing up in some form or another. These days, scams come in all shapes and sizes. Fraudsters use major social media platforms to advertise various scams to a large audience. A lot of these fake advertisements are for hot-ticket Christmas gifts at a discounted price; however, these advertisements lead to phony websites where the scam occurs. Other advertisements request donations where scammers pose as fake charities.
Another type of scam that is arising through social media is the advertisement of dangerous holiday-themed apps, especially those geared to younger audiences. Be careful of what you choose to install! The BBB notes that many of these new holiday apps contain malware or collect personal information. If it is your first time hearing about an app that claims to track Santa or partake in other fun holiday activities, make sure you investigate its legitimacy before choosing to download it.
Scammers will also send direct messages, emails, texts, and even phone calls to people trying to extract money or personal data which can then be used to access bank accounts and cards. If you believe you have been a victim of fraud, you can visit our webpage on fraud recovery for helpful steps in recovering your information.
"Secret Santa" is a very common social media scam where users recruit others to join a “Secret Santa” group with the promise that they could receive gifts from fellow users. There is typically a certain monetary requirement for what you must spend on a stranger on the internet. They have you provide your name, address and email, which opens the door for identity theft. After collecting your information, they request that you recruit your friends as well.
Gift exchange scam examples:
Exchanging bottles of alcohol.
Submitting your email or username into a list where participants get to pick a name and send money to strangers to "pay it forward."
Buying a $10 gift or e-gift card for your "secret recipient."
In all these versions, participants unwittingly share their personal information (name, home address, email, username, payment details, along with those of their family members and friends, and are further tricked into buying and shipping gifts or money to unknown individuals.
If you think it sounds like a pyramid scheme, you’re right. This scam has been identified by the Better Business Bureau, which released a statement describing the scam and why it is illegal.
Check out our full article on gift and donation scams to learn more about how these scams work!