The rapidly growing popularity of social networks is also giving way for more criminal syndicates and solo fraudsters to expand their global reach and victimize more unsuspecting users with their online scams and money fraud. In the USA, there was a 30% growth in online scams and Web crimes throughout the USA in 2016, as compared to 2015.
The widespread penetration of mobile devices around the world and the global adoption of the mobile Web in many countries today also significantly contribute to the overall popularity of social media applications. This is one of the reasons why many criminal syndicates and solo fraudsters are constantly devising new social manipulation tactics to lure more users into their cyber traps and money fraud.
By learning how criminals and scammers are using social networks and applications to victimize unsuspecting users, you can steer clear from their latest money fraud and online scams. You'll be able to devise more suitable ways to quickly spot and safely defend yourself against their tactics and schemes. You'll also be able to identify the Web privacy tools and online security applications that can protect your private information and devices during your day-to-day activities in your favorite social networks.
How Are Popular Social Networks Being Used for Money Fraud & Online Scams This Year
Phishing scams are prevalent across the most widely used social networks and multimedia applications today. This is where scammers and criminal syndicates try to trick users into giving away their personal details, account credentials and financial information. Once they steal a user's private information, they use it for more serious money fraud and illegal activities.
They implement their expertly crafted phishing scams by first sending out deceptive messages through the private messaging platforms of their target social networks. Their phishing messages mostly contain fake urgency claims and scare rhetoric that have victimized a lot of unsuspecting users. Some criminals use hacked accounts to send out their phishing messages, causing more users to fall for their money fraud tactics and online schemes.
Money scams are also falsely being promoted as lucrative online money-making opportunities and profitable investment ventures across heavily trafficked social networks like Facebook and Instagram. The most prevalent money fraud and similar online scams in the USA today are cash checking fraud and money flipping scams.
Check cashing fraud is where unsuspecting users are fooled into agreeing to cash out checks to receive an enticing cut from the value of the check. This money fraud is targeted at countries where banks immediately cash out checks based on the credibility of their depositors before they clear the checks. Victims end up with huge debts after their banks call and inform them that they just cashed out fake checks, which is usually several days after victims have already sent the money and taken their cut from the illegitimate transaction.
Money flipping fraud is where scammers trick users into believing that they can multiply their investments up to ten times in just a matter of days. This is the newest money fraud that's currently being falsely advertised as a profitable investment opportunity in social networks like Instagram and Facebook. Victims purchase prepaid debit cards, gift cards and money packs to buy into this fake investment venture, as how they're told by the fraudsters and criminal syndicates that operate this money scam. Of course, they run away with the victim's money as soon as they get their hands on the details of these cards and money packs, while victims are left with non-refundable transactions that they can't dispute.
When you sign up at BigScammers.com, you'll get instant notifications and real time alerts about the newest types of money fraud and online crimes today. These updates are automatically sent to your email by this Web platform whenever a user posts a scam complaint or updates a previously published Web crime report from another user in this online community. This is a convenient way for you to learn about the latest tactics and schemes that are presently being used to commit Web crimes, which can allow you to quickly spot and safely avoid the most prevalent Internet scams this year. 