Whether you spend a lot of time on social media like the younger generations or spend a minimal amount of time on different social media platforms like some older adults in senior living facilities, it’s important to know that there are scams taking place on all social media platforms and how to be on the lookout for them.
To help you learn just how this can be done, here are three tips to avoid getting scammed on social media.
Don’t Share Personal Info With Strangers
One of the best pieces of advice for anyone using social media is to be careful about who you interact with and what information you share with them.
While it can be fun to meet new people online and find those in different areas of the world that you connect with, you need to be very careful about sharing too much personal information with strangers that you don’t know well. Especially if you’re trying to use social media to start up romantic relationships, you should take things slow when it comes to sharing actual personal information that people could use to gain access to your accounts or other sensitive information. So although you may want to learn about people’s pasts, sharing this information could put you at risk if you share this information with the wrong people online.
Research Sellers Before Making Purchases
Social media can be a great place to learn about new products and make purchases that you can’t make in physical stores. However, not everything that you see advertised on social media is what it appears to be. Sometimes, sellers you see advertising things on social media are really just trying to trick people into giving them their money.
To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, spend some time researching online sellers that you’re not familiar with before you make a purchase from them. If there are any bad online reviews about the seller or mentions of this being a scam, think twice before you give them any of your money or other personal information.
Beware Of Imposters
It’s not only strangers or people that you don’t know on social media that can be a threat to you. Unfortunately, people often get their accounts hacked and then have imposters pretending to be them online so that they can trick people into giving them money or information under the guise that they’re speaking to someone they know and trust.
To avoid this, make sure you trust your gut if you’re suspicious about interactions you have with anyone online, even people you know. If anyone asks you for things that make you feel uncomfortable or seem out of character, stop and do some digging before you proceed.
If you’re worried about getting scammed on social media, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you avoid these kinds of issues.
