Safeguarding Your Business from Social Media's Top Five Scams

Social Media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn and Instagram are an increasingly popular way for business interactions to take place. This is both a great convenience for your customers and a brilliant way for your sales and marketing team to track customer communications. But there is a dark side too.

Social media scams are on the rise! Not only can this affect your business with employees using social media in their work, it can also be a way in for cyber criminals to attack your business when your team are using social media in their personal lives.

Cyber criminals exploit the popularity of social media to trick unsuspecting users. This article discusses the top five scams that cyber criminals use on  and provides preventive measures to safeguard your business.

Be sure to share with your team as when it comes to cyber security the line between personal use and business use becomes blurry.

1. The "Who Viewed Your Profile" Trap

This scam lures you into believing that you can see who has viewed your profile. Cyber criminals initiate this trap by sending messages that appear to come from familiar contacts or creating malicious advertisements that show up in your newsfeed. Clicking on these links grants these criminals access to your account.

Key Takeaway: Be vigilant about messages and ads promising features that are not officially on offer. Remember, not all platforms allow users to see who has viewed their profiles.

2. Deceptive Inappropriate Videos

Cyber criminals use the allure of inappropriate celebrity videos to capture your attention. These scams may appear as ads or posts containing links to counterfeit YouTube videos. If clicked, a message claiming your Adobe Flash Player is malfunctioning pops up, urging an update. However, clicking the link installs harmful malware on your device.

Key Takeaway: Avoid clicking on suspicious video links. If a video seems too provocative or sensational, it's likely a bait to lure you into their trap.

3. Viral Video Scams

Fake viral videos are another common tactic. Cyber criminals trick you into clicking a link for a viral video, after which a message asks you to update your video player. Instead, a virus gets downloaded onto your device.

Key Takeaway: To avoid fake video links, Google the video you want to watch. If search results don't include a link to YouTube or another legitimate website, it's likely a scam.

4. The Fake Profile Scam

In this scam, cybercriminals steal names and images from real social media profiles, sending connection requests to the person's friends. They then trick these individuals by feigning an emergency.

Key Takeaway: Exercise caution when accepting connection requests, especially from someone you're already friends with. It could be a fake account. Ask yourself, would this person really send me a message like this.

5. Romance Scams

In romance scams, cybercriminals create counterfeit profiles using real people's photos and stories. They aim to form relationships with other users, using romantic language and promising happiness, only to trick them into sharing personal information or money.

Key Takeaway: Stay safe by not accepting connection requests from people you don't know personally.

Preventing these scams requires constant vigilance and a healthy dose of skepticism about too-good-to-be-true offers or requests from unfamiliar sources. Investing in cyber security measures and educating your team about these threats will also go a long way in safeguarding your business.

If you are concerned about security in your business then we can help you.
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