The number of people who have fallen victim to social media scammers in 2021 has totalled to over 95,000. The amount stolen from these victims are said to be around $770 million.
The number is over double the previous $258 million stolen by scammers in 2020.
FTC Reports a Profitable Year for Social Media Scammers for Stealing $770 Million
According to a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, 2021 was a rather profitable year for social media scammers. Per the FTC, $770 million was stolen from over 95,000 victims throughout the year scammers who were able to find them through social media platforms.
The number is more than double what scammers made in the year 2020, which is said to be around $258 million. According to the story by Engadget, the report notes that scam reports have significantly increased over the course of the last five years.
The report, however, did not dive deep into what caused such a massive increase in 2021.
Investment Scams Made a Third of What was Lost in 2021
The report also stated that investment scams accounted for $285 million. This amount is said to be a third of $770 million lost in 2021. It was also stated that "there was a massive surge in scams related to bogus cryptocurrency investments."
The report claims that there was a record high climb for romance scams, in particular, in the past few years. In addition, the FTC has also noted that these scams follow the narrative of meeting a stranger, engaging in sweet talk, before the scammer asks the victim for money.
Facebook and Instagram Mentioned in the Report
Online shopping-related scams were also reportedly prevalent. Many of such scams involved "undelivered goods that were purchased as the result of an ad on social media." In the report, two platforms that were named were Facebook and Instagram.
The report showed that over a third of people who "lost money to an online romance scam in 2021" were usually contacted by the scammer via Facebook or Instagram.
The FTC also noted that Instagram and Facebook were mostly cited platforms for reports when it came to undelivered goods. It is said that 9 out of 10 reports cited the two social media apps.
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Meta Spokesperson Speaks Up Regarding the Fraudulent Activities
A Meta spokesperson has said that the company puts a significant amount of resources when it comes to "tracking this kind of fraud and abuse." The spokesperson also pointed out that they do more than just deleting and suspending accounts, pages, and ads.
It was also noted that the company encourages people to report that type of behavior whenever they can spot it and that they take legal action against those who have scammed them.
Since scammers can "easily use tools available to advertisers on social media platforms to systematically target people with bogus ads based on personal details such as their age, interests, or past purchases," the FTC recommends that users try to opt out of being targeted by these types of ads.
The FTC also recommends that users make sure that they make the necessary changes to their privacy settings. They also advise the public to be alert and wary of social media messages that ask for money, whether it may be in the form of crypto or even gift cards.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
