Social Media Safety
Common Social Media Scams
By Danielle Hayward
Please consider making a donation to Silent Rights to enable us to keep helping victims of abuse and violence. You can make a donation through paypal here.
In today's hyper-connected world, social media has become an integral part of our lives. While it offers countless opportunities for communication and networking, it also presents an enticing playground for scammers and fraudsters.
Brace yourselves for a journey into the fascinating world of trickery and deception! Today, we're diving headfirst into the realm of scams – those cunning cons and clever schemes that have been tantalizing both our wallets and our imaginations for ages.
So, grab a pen and paper, and your favourite warm beverage, and get ready to arm yourself against the most prevalent social media scams. Your virtual safety depends on it!
Investing scams.
Scary fact: 50% of investing scams take place online.
With an investing scam, someone, maybe even a Facebook friend, may contact you with a “wonderful business opportunity” or promise to take R500 and turn it into R5000 in just one day or week. They might even “offer” to pay the first investing fee for you and then ask you to pay a “release” fee to get your money. They might also ask for a copy of your ID or your Facebook login details to “make sure that they can trust you”.
These stories almost always end with them blocking you, running away with your money, and in some instances, using your account to scam other people.
How to look out for an investing scam:
- Never give your social media logins to anybody.
- Do not pay money to people you’ve never met.
- Ask yourself: why would they share this with me, someone that they barely know.
- If it is too good to be true- it probably is.
Romantic scams.
With these scams, fraudsters pretend to want to be your friend or even a romantic partner, with the ulterior motive of getting you to give them money, getting some of your personal info so that they can steal your identity, or to blackmail you later.
How to avoid a romantic scam:
- Do not pay money to people that you’ve only met online.
- If someone does not want to video call you, or always has excuses why they can’t meet, it is a red flag.
- Never send nudes.
- Do a reverse Google search with their names and photos that they send you to see if it is not stolen from someone else or a stock photo.
Family Scams.
This is a relatively new scam. Fraudsters send you a message asking you to send them a code so they can regain access to their Instagram account. In reality, they use this code to gain access to your Instagram, change your password, and log you out so they can use your account to scam others.
They might also go onto Facebook, get your family’s number, and contact them, pretending to be you in order to get money from them.
How to look out for a family scam:
- Never click on strange links.
- If a family member or friend messages you from a strange number, wanting to borrow money from you, call them and make sure that it is indeed them.
Job Scams.
South Africa has an extremely high unemployment rate, and scammers are using it to their advantage.
These jobs will usually offer a massive salary without telling you what you will do, or it will require you to pay money to be considered a candidate.
How to look out for a job scam:
- Do not pay money in order to get a job.
- All the company to ask if they are really recruiting at the moment.
- If you have to for an interview, Google the address to make sure it is not a location where people are being human trafficked.
Keep safe!
Author: Danielle Hayward
Danielle is on a mission is to educate & empower South Africans in the legal space
Follow Danielle here:
Please consider making a donation to Silent Rights to enable us to keep helping victims of abuse and violence. You can make a donation through paypal here.
Read more blog posts:
- Why an Abuser Will Do Whatever It Takes to Sabotage You
- The Myth of the Overworked Narcissist
- Why Narcissists Always Bring Up the Past
- You Are Not Crazy, Your Self-Worth is Inherent
- What Happens When You Treat a Narcissist the Way They Treat You?
- Discarding the Narcissist vs. Being Discarded by the Narcissist
- What Victims of Narcissistic Abuse Need to Know
- Why the Silent Treatment is the Best Way to Starve a Narcissist
- Love Bombing: Recognizing the Signs and Protecting Your Heart
- Preventing Teen Dating Violence: Education and Awareness
- Recognizing and Avoiding One-Sided Relationships
- Intersectionality and Abuse: Addressing the Unique Challenges Faced by Different Communities
- Nurturing Emotional Intelligence: Managing Aggression in Children
- The Role of Therapy and Counseling in Recovery from Abuse and Violence
- Protecting Against Digital Abuse
- When Your Adult Child Becomes an Abuser
- Oppose all forms of child abuse：The rights and interests of children are inviolable
- Identifying Narcissistic Behavior
- The Manipulative Web of Abusers: How They Use Everything and Everyone to Break You Down
- The Painful Reality: How Abusers Weaponize Children in Custody Battles
- Supporting a Loved One in an Abusive Relationship: A Guide to Providing Help
- The Importance of Planning for Your Future After Abuse
- How Talking About Your Abuse Can Help You Heal
- Harnessing the Healing Power of Affirmations with Action After Abuse
- South African Heritage Day: Celebrating Diversity, Unity, and Identity
- Social Media Safety – Common Social Media Scams
- Celebrating Women’s Day in South Africa: A Tribute to Resilience and Progress
- Recognizing the Signs: Identifying Domestic Abuse Patterns
- Navigating Parenthood Together: Understanding Parallel Parenting and Coparenting
- Do You Know Your Marriage Regime?
- Rebuilding Self-Esteem and Confidence: Tools and Techniques for Women after Abuse
- The Devastating Effects of Domestic Abuse on Victims and Their Children
- Betrayal and Healing: The Impact of Infidelity on Wives, Families, and Relationships
- Cybercrime and Domestic Violence
- Understanding Domestic Abuse
- Holding Your Abuser Accountable: The Importance of Opening a Case and Applying for a Protection Order
- Breaking the Silence: Confronting Gender-Based Violence Head-On
- The Power of Healing Quotes: Words that Mend the Soul
- Harnessing the Power of Affirmations for Healing from Abuse
- Navigating the Path to Love: Starting Dating After Experiencing Abuse
- Explaining to Your Child Why You Aren’t with an Abusive Parent: A Guide to Nurturing Understanding and Healing
- Processing Anger After Experiencing an Abusive Relationship
- Navigating Coparenting with an Abuser
- How to Deal with Narcissistic Family Members
- Escaping the Darkness: Planning Your Exit Strategy in an Abusive Relationship
- The Road to Healing: Processing Trauma and Building Resilience after Abuse
- From Victim to Survivor: Embracing a New Identity
- Parenting through Healing
- Recognizing Red Flags: Safeguarding Yourself from Toxic Relationships
- Love After Abuse: Healthy Relationships and Red Flags
- Thriving Beyond Abuse: Creating a Life of Joy and Fulfillment
- The Crucial Role of Self-Reflection in Escaping an Abusive Relationship
- The Healing Power of Journaling: Transforming Pain into Empowerment
- The Power of Financial Independence: Empowering Women to Escape Abusive Relationships
- Help create a precedent for Cyber Crime
- When a victim shares trauma
- Signs Someone Is Manipulating You
- WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!
- Survivor Story: Ena Berger
- Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Co-parenting with a Narcissist
- Regain Your Self-Respect
- Common causes of domestic violence in relationship
- Self-care Tips To Heal From Trauma And Abuse
- How to Set Boundaries
- Gaslighting
- Healing after an abusive relationship
- Signs Of Sexual Abuse
- Abuse by proxy
- Rape culture
- Stalking!
- What is Harassment?
- Different types of Narcissists
- Courts of South Africa
- Signs of narcissistic behavior
- How to Recognize the Signs of Mental and Emotional Abuse
- Why Do People Abuse?
- Releasing Emotional Pain
- Be careful what you post on social media
- Why do abused women stay?
- Why women don’t feel safe
- Trying to hide the abuse
- Know your Human Rights
- Evidence
- Trauma Bonding
- What is Domestic Abuse?
- Harassment Order
- Protection Orders
