Social Media Scammers Stole At Least $770 Million In 2021 (engadget.com) 20
According to a new report from the FTC, more than 95,000 people lost $770 million to scammers who found them via social media platforms in 2021. "That's more than double the $258 million they say scammers made off with in 2020," notes Engadget. From the report: The report doesn't speculate on why there was such a big increase in 2021, but it notes that reports of scams have "soared" over the last five years. It also states that there was a "massive surge" in scams related to "bogus cryptocurrency investments" and that investment scams accounted for nearly $285 million -- more than third -- of the $770 million lost last year. Romance scams have also "climbed to record highs in recent years," according to the report. "These scams often start with a seemingly innocent friend request from a stranger, followed by sweet talk, and then, inevitably, a request for money," the FTC says. Also prevalent are scams related to online shopping, most of which involve "undelivered goods" that were purchased as the result of an ad on social media.
Of note, Facebook and Instagram are the only two platforms named in the report. "More than a third of people who said they lost money to an online romance scam in 2021 said it began on Facebook or Instagram," the report states. Likewise, the FTC says that Facebook and Instagram were the most commonly cited platform for reports of undelivered good, with the two apps cited in 9 out of 10 reports where a service was identified. [...] Interestingly one of the FTC's recommendations is that users try to opt out of targeted advertising when possible as scammers can "easily use the tools available to advertisers on social media platforms to systematically target people with bogus ads based on personal details such as their age, interests, or past purchases." The agency also recommends users lock down their privacy settings and to be wary of any messages asking for money, especially in the form of cryptocurrency or gift cards.
Of note, Facebook and Instagram are the only two platforms named in the report. "More than a third of people who said they lost money to an online romance scam in 2021 said it began on Facebook or Instagram," the report states. Likewise, the FTC says that Facebook and Instagram were the most commonly cited platform for reports of undelivered good, with the two apps cited in 9 out of 10 reports where a service was identified. [...] Interestingly one of the FTC's recommendations is that users try to opt out of targeted advertising when possible as scammers can "easily use the tools available to advertisers on social media platforms to systematically target people with bogus ads based on personal details such as their age, interests, or past purchases." The agency also recommends users lock down their privacy settings and to be wary of any messages asking for money, especially in the form of cryptocurrency or gift cards.
Hate to admit it ... but ... (Score:5, Informative)
I fell for one of these scams on Facebook myself. It was probably about a year ago. I ran across a "seller" in one of the ads that scrolled by on my feed, selling what looked like a cheap knock-off of something like a Craftsman rolling toolbox with 4 or 5 drawers. I had just moved and left an old one of mine behind at the old house, because I just ran out of space in my vehicle or time to deal with it. They were only asking $150 or so. In hindsight, that was probably too good to be true when you factor in what it must cost to ship something like that. But I was thinking more along the lines of it probably being thin metal, poor quality drawers, and so forth but "good enough" for my purposes to organize tools in my basement. (And hey, I figured maybe this was some deal where they were obtaining them from warehouses with surplus stuff in various regions so delivery wasn't so costly.) There were plenty of comments posted ranging from other people interested in one, to claims they got one and liked it.
So I visited their basic e-commerce web page and made the purchase. After a little while, I got email confirming it and providing a UPS tracking number. That's when I realized something was wrong. It claimed the shipment was only 2lbs.! I think a day or two after that, the tracking info showed the package as delivered but I never received anything at all.
When I contacted UPS to try to find out more, they claimed it was delivered to an address which was a residence in my same town, but nowhere near my street. I attempted to file a fraud claim with them at that point, providing the original web site receipt, etc. but nothing came of it. UPS kept closing my case with no comment or response.
When I started digging around more on Facebook after that, I realized the scammers who were running the toolbox ad were actually running dozens of ads for various products, giving out web URLs that were almost identical except with one letter changed in their name. Reported the original ad I responded to, to Facebook, but again - got no response from them. It looked like it was deleted or removed shortly thereafter. But obviously, this scammer was constantly generating new ads and site URLs, fully expecting the old ads to be removed regularly.
That's when it struck me that Facebook is complicit in all of this, in the sense they make a lot of ad revenue off of these scams so it's more profitable for them to turn a blind eye and simply take one down when a user complains about it specifically.
Re: (Score:2)
My tricks:
1. Don't buy stuff from online ads, ever.
2. Don't buy cheap stuff online, there must be a reason it's cheap.
3. Buy online from places that have a street address in your state.
4. Buy trusted brands and from trusted sellers.
I would buy a tool cart from Beta or Facom (European brands, you certainly can find the US brands on your own), that's what I use at work so now I'm spoiled and I want the best, but using quality tools is a lifelong joy, and the additional expense is insignificant if you decided
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I'm a little confused on what happened to you. You paid with a money order? You paid UPS with a credit card? I got in a fight with Discover a few years back over an online purchase that was never delivered. Discover issued a refund, but then withdrew it when the vendor objected. I called Discover and said, verbatim "you have three choices. 1) you can reissue the refund, and let the seller sue me, 2) you can not reissue the refund, I'll close my account without paying it, and Discover can eat it, 3) yo
re: confused (Score:2)
Like I say... this was at least a year ago so I'm trying to remember all the details. But I think the situation was that I paid online for the product using PayPal on their (bogus) web page. When I tried to challenge the transaction as fraudulent w/PayPal to get my money back, they requested I provide a certain type of shipping document from UPS that would indicate it was never really delivered to my proper mailing address.
That's why I got involved with UPS, trying to get them to look into the provided tr
Re: (Score:2)
I shouldn't worry about this fleabite on the nation's economy:
[quote]The revenue of the U.S. cosmetic industry is estimated to amount to about 49.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2019.[/quote]
Re: (Score:2)
Well, $770 million (Score:3)
Well, $770 million that they know about anyway....
At this point (Score:2)
if people are so enamored with anti-social media that they abandon any semblance of common sense, they deserve what they get.
And yes, I am victim blaming. This is one of the extremely few times I do it.
Re: (Score:2)
The report doesn't speculate on why there was such a big increase in 2021, but it notes that reports of scams have "soared" over the last five years.
There was such a big increase because the scammers realised that social engineering sites like Fecebook are absolutely perfect for, well, social engineering. It's the perfect tool for con artists and scammers, you put all the data they need to take you in on the social engineering site, or you join groups that identify you as the perfect target for social engineering, connecting you up to the people who want to scam you.
And that's just the political con artists, the ones after your money are even worse.
This IRS... (Score:2)
...you send $500 Apple gift card or you arrested. Send to PO box 9889... etc..
So scammers are making more money on social media because social media is making people dumber?
Re: (Score:2)
...you send $500 Apple gift card or you arrested. Send to PO box 9889... etc..
So scammers are making more money on social media because social media is making people dumber?
Yes, something like that [9cache.com].
Campaigns on Facebook (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Honestly I don't care. (Score:2)
Seriously. I consider these victimless crimes, because you can't build enough guard rails to protect everyone from their own dumbness.
To me this news is like:
- X dumb drunk fucks killed themselves driving while intoxicated.
- Y stupid gullible chicks got knocked up
- Z clumsy people tripped over nothing and hurt themselves
Engadget and math ... (Score:2)
That's more than double the $258 million ...
It is almost exactly three times as much. While not exactly wrong, the statement is misleading.