It has been revealed that the number of financial scams have doubled in the past year on social media to almost 450,000. Javvad Malik, Security Advocate at AlienVault commented below.
Javvad Malik, Security Advocate at AlienVault:
“Social media is a low-cost and high impact medium for scammers. There is a huge audience to be targeted, so it is not surprising to see more and more scammers take advantage of this to push the fraudulent wares. Even if a small number of people fall victim, it is usually enough to provide a return on investment to the criminals.
People should always remain vigilant online. Money is a common hook to bait victims, either by announcing they have won an unexpected sum of money through a lottery or inheritance scam. Scammers may pose as solicitors to persuade victims to share their bank details.
Other similar scams include criminals posing as government or tax officials demanding outstanding tax payment.
In these and similar scenarios, while the promise of unexpected wealth can be hard to resist – if something is too good to be true, it probably is. There is no such thing as easy money and if you don’t remember a long lost relative, then the chances are pretty good that you have not inherited their fortune, so be aware.”
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