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# What You Should Know About Social Media Scams (According to the Big Banks)
[Cambium Data Blog](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/categories/blog) [Security](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/categories/security)
[Tony Underwood](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tony-underwood)
Wednesday, 05 March 2025
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[  ](//cambiumdata.directivesites.com/images/easyblog_shared/March_2025/03-05-24/SMScam_949088450_400.jpg "What You Should Know About Social Media Scams (According to the Big Banks)")
Social media might connect people unlike any tool previously seen, but it’s not all sunshine and daisies. After all, this same revolution in communication has brought about one of the largest ways to scam unsuspecting users. Today, we want to take a look at how these social media scams work and what you can do to keep yourself safe.
## Social Media Scams Explained
Social media scams are pretty self-explanatory; they’re scams carried out through a social media app.
Most attacks will utilize fake profiles on applications and platforms that people inherently trust, not unlike other phishing scams that exploit the reputation of institutions like banks or the federal government. Social media scams are a bit more sinister, though, as they will take on the persona of your friends, family members, romantic partners (or prospects), government entities, businesses, and so on. The attacker will use your profile for any piece of information they can find and exploit it against you.
Once the scam begins, it can take many forms:
- Offering a means of making fast money with little work or associated risk
- Offering a sale of a valuable item, sight unseen
- Offering a heavily discounted sale of a big-ticket item
- Offering a sale, despite living overseas or otherwise being unable to meet in person
- Offering something with the endorsement of a public figure
- Pleading for financial support—despite never having met you in person—to assist with a personal emergency
- Threats to share images of you unless some financial compensation is received
Look out for these warning signs so you can protect your data using the following methods:
### Confirm the Poster’s Identity
If any account tries to contact you, investigate. Find out how long it’s been active and how many followers/friends it has. You can then get a good idea of whether or not the profile is legitimate, especially if you start to receive unsolicited job offers, too-good-to-be-true opportunities, and so on.
### Keep Your Private Information to Yourself
If someone requests financial support or sends you sensitive photos, take a step back and think—especially if it’s someone you have only ever met online. Even if you have met the individual, you should be aware that they could have potentially sinister intentions.
## You Need to Act Now
Really, we wanted to have this conversation with you because of some guidance that [Chase Bank provides about social media scams on their website](https://www.chase.com/digital/resources/privacy-security/security/social-media-scams), specifically the bit about how half of all scams reported to financial institutions have their roots in social media. The bank has received reports from users that people are using Zelle to request electronic transfers, and these attacks are coming from social media platforms and their connected marketplaces.
While it’s admirable of Chase to offer guidance on this situation, it’s also the bank mitigating losses. On the privacy and security page that details social media scams, it’s noted that certain types of payment don’t qualify for consumer purchase protection.
It should be noted, too, that this guidance is not limited to Chase specifically; any individual at any financial institution should take this advice to heart.
## We’ll Help Educate Your Team, Too
Businesses in particular need to be careful about social media scams and cybersecurity threats, so if your team needs a refresher, Cambium Data is here for you. To learn more, call us at (402) 514-3200.
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Tags:
[Social Media](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/tags/social-media) [Data](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/tags/data) [Security](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/tags/security)
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About the author
[  ](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tony-underwood)
[Tony Underwood](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tony-underwood)
[ ](https://cambiumdata.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/tony-underwood)
Tony Underwood, Founder and President of Cambium Data Inc. has proven himself as one of the top internetworking experts in the industry. Mr. Underwood began his IT career in 1991 in the US Navy working on critical military computer systems. He grew his computer and networking knowledge through a number of different IT jobs from desktop support all the way up to leading the Network Engineering organization of a multi-billion dollar international company. Mr Underwood was recognized as Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert [\#7112](https://connect.directive.com/v4_6_release/services/system_io/Service/fv_sr100_request.rails?service_recid=7112&companyName=Dti) in March of 2001 and in 2022 he achieved the lifetime status of Cisco CCIE Emeritus
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