Don’t you just love keeping up with all your family and friends on Facebook? Social media is a wonderful place to see pics of your neighbor’s trip to Hawaii or their latest remodel, but its not the greatest place if you are trying to stay safe online.
Social engineering scams have skyrocketed by a whopping 519% in 2020 when compared to 2019, say researchers at Baltimore-based ZeroFOX. The noted the similarity between their own and a recent report from the Federal Trade Commission, which found that scams on social media have flourished since the early months of the pandemic. ZeroFOX states their data aligns with the findings in the FTC’s report, and they’ve observed a significant year-over-year increase in scams.
Here’s what they found:
ZeroFOX suggests that this activity will continue to magnify, because it’s highly profitable for scammers and it’s an approach that’s very succesful.
“ZeroFOX Alpha Team assesses that scammers will likely continue to use the pandemic as an opportunity to take advantage of desperate consumers,” the researchers write. “Emotional and economic distress can leave victims vulnerable to these scams, especially ones designed to alleviate stress and reduce the impact of the pandemic. Alpha Team also assesses that the scam types will remain constant and we will not see many new scams, mostly due to the years of experience and resources available for tried and tested scams. The old adage ‘don’t fix what isn’t broke’ applies to bad actors as well. As always, be mindful when using social media for business or for personal use to prevent yourself from becoming the next victim to a social media scam.”
When using social media, always use caution before you click. if you need help with cybersecurity solutions, contact DarkHound at [email protected]
Sources: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/10/26/social-media-scams-covid-19-pandemic/6038917002/
Image Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/apple-applications-apps-cell-phone-607812/