Posted on Wednesday 11th September 2024
Laura Burgess from Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service
People in Staffordshire are being warned about the risks of social media scams as reports increase.
The warning from Staffordshire County Council follows research showing that every year millions of people in the UK fall prey to scammers, with criminals now using popular social media sites to target customers. According to the regulator Ofcom, around nine in ten people have experienced an online scam, with nearly a quarter having first encountered the scam on social media.
Common scams include bogus offers for goods and services, fake investment offers, rental scams, and online job adverts asking for an upfront fee. Counterfeit sports events and concert tickets have also been reported, particularly in relation to recent tours by Taylor Swift and Oasis.
Spotting these scams can be difficult, and with advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), criminals are becoming more sophisticated and making their scams more convincing. Deepfakes, using video along with convincing voice cloning, are some of the techniques being deployed.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member responsible for Trading Standards at Staffordshire County Council, said:
“With many of us living much of our lives online these days, it’s never been more important to be scam aware.
“Scams are everywhere, especially on social media, so it’s important to be aware and look out for them. Whether you’re buying something, booking a holiday, renting a house or buying a concert or event ticket, you need to be vigilant.
“We simply want people to be scam aware, be able to recognise these scams, and take the right action when dealing with them.”
Here are some tips to help spot and avoid a social media scam:
- Never give out personal or financial information - Online fraudsters want you to provide your personal or financial information. If they have access to these details, they’ll be able to use your identity fraudulently or can use your financial information to get access to your money via your bank or building society account.
- Check identity carefully - Confirm the identity of the person or organisation, especially if they’ve contacted you out of the blue and are asking for money.
- Inspect web addresses carefully - Sometimes enticing posts on social media link to a fake login page, and when you enter your email and password, you’re actually giving those details to a scammer. Always check that the URL matches the social media website you’re using.
- Check your social media timeline - Are you seeing an unusually high volume of the same status being shared? This should ring alarm bells that it may be a scam, especially if the message is the same for more than a few people.
- And finally, is it too good to be true? - Scammers will often pretend to be from legitimate and trustworthy sources, offering an enticing incentive to click through to a ‘too good to be true’ deal.
People can report online scams on the Citizens Advice website, or by calling 0808 223 1133.