How to avoid Facebook Scam?

Scammers are all around and Facebook is just one of the many media used for fooling innocent users for some personal gain. Facebook scam may result in personal information at risk, and also empty your bank accounts. So if you are a victim, connect with Cyber Crime Lawyers to take legal action against the scammers. Reporting a scam on Facebook may help block the account, but the person is still free to make or hack another account, thus, knowing what to do and seeking legal assistance always helps avoid more losses. 

Facebook Scam Posts

Sometimes, Facebook users may come across a post which is a bit clickbaity, prompting the users to click on a link to know more about it. Examples can be ‘XYZ earned 50 lakhs in a week. Click on the link to know more’, or ‘Donate money to save XYZ’ showing an image of a person in utmost pain, ‘This celebrity family lost a loved one’, all such examples in the Facebook post containing a link leading to a page which seeks some or the other personal information ending up into Facebook Scam. Hence, analyse anything and everything that you read on Facebook posts before acting on it.

Facebook Scam Messages

Speaking of personal experience, have you received one of those messages from people you rarely talked to on Facebook, asking ‘Is that you in the video?’, then there is a link attached, which you are not at all supposed to click on. Even the people in your friend list can be scammed, their accounts may be hacked. Thus, in such situations, you should be vigilant in sharing any personal information with a person over social media, unless you get an assurance.

How do you know if you are chatting with a scammer?

There is a difference when you are chatting with a person you know and someone who is not known but using fraudulent means for personal gains. Thus, the communication will in some way or the other reflect that the person on the other side is not the person whose identity/Facebook account is being used. For example, a school friend won’t ask you if it is you in the video, and he/she will share some other details apart from sharing a video. A person whom you have not contacted since years won’t directly approach you for some loan seeking bank details. Hence, in such suspicious cases, confirm if it is a scammer and report the account immediately, while also intimating the person whose account was used while committing such a Facebook scam.

What to do after I got scammed on Facebook?

Being vigilant is necessary, but lack of vigilance does not all the way take away the rights of a victim. So if the Facebook scam has resulted in financial loss for you, it is advisable to immediately report to the bank concerned and get the account freezed. Additionally, report the Facebook account even if it was a case of identity theft, and lodge a cyber crime complaint. There are chances that you will get your money back due to favourable banking guidelines.