Avoiding social media schemes during the holidays

By Editor | December 11, 2024

NEWS FROM THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

Social media is an invaluable tool for making and maintaining connections, sharing memories, and creating communities. However, it can also be used maliciously as an avenue for impersonation, bait-and-switch tactics, and social engineering attacks using emotional manipulation, deceptive practices, and outright lies.
Additionally, many people who share details of their lives on social media may be unknowingly providing bad actors with the puzzle pieces they need to enact a scheme.
Despite social media platforms’ efforts to protect users and create safe online environments, everyone needs to play defense and protect their information to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, especially during the holiday season.
This year, keep a lookout for some of these social media schemes:
Gift Exchanges
Gift exchanges are a great way to have fun with a close group of friends or family but can quickly spiral out of control when strangers are added into the mix. Every year, social media posts promoting gift exchanges for bourbon, wine, pet gifts, or an assortment of other products are frequently encountered. While some of these may be innocent attempts to create a community, others are strategically designed pyramid schemes that result in participants losing money and risking their personal information.
How to identify and avoid:
Check to see who is organizing the gift exchange and ask them who is participating. Decide if you trust those people to know your personal information.
Ask about the requirements to participate. If you must recruit other people to receive a gift, chances are good you are getting involved in a pyramid scheme.
Be wary if you must purchase a gift through a specific vendor or provide payment details through an unrecognized website. You may be placing your banking information at risk.
Seasonal Events,
Festivals, or Fairs
Communities across the nation often host a variety of holiday events for residents, providing a great opportunity for friends and families to create memories together. However, not all social media posts promoting an upcoming local event are legitimate.
This tactic is also commonly used by fraudulent traveling shows and exhibits.
How to identify and avoid:
Check the city’s or hosting venue’s official calendar to verify the event is listed. Make sure the date matches with what is posted on social media.
Search for reviews or complaints about a traveling show or exhibit online before booking tickets. Pay particular attention to the title – scammers will create event names that closely match legitimate ones.
Requests for Assistance or Unverified Public Notices
Often found in community groups, these posts seek to create emotional responses to fuel engagement and can range from outrage to sympathy, depending on the specifics included. For example, they may claim that a lost child or pet was found that needs help, a family member has been hospitalized, or that they were a victim of a crime. How to identify and avoid:
Check with law enforcement about any claimed criminal activity occurring locally, if the post is not originating from the department’s official social media account.
For more information about how to have a safe, scam-free holiday season, visit BBB.org/Holiday.