Social platforms have become a breeding ground for scamsters, fraudsters and hackers who just want to dupe people. One of the social platforms that scamsters and fraudsters prefer is Twitter. It's because Twitter has millions of users and there's limited awareness about the type of scams happening on Twitter. Another reason is that Twitter has several advanced features that can be exploited to cheat people. For the benefit of users, here's a look at some of the most common scams happening on Twitter.
Blue Tick scam - Twitter offers the Blue Tick badge to individuals and organizations after verifying their details. In case of users who may not know the process of getting the Blue Tick, scamsters may send them messages offering Blue Tick. Users are asked to click on a link and pay a small fee. When the user enters their credit/debit card details on the fake website, the info is compromised.
Bot scams - Twitter says that around 5% of the users are fake or spammers. However, the number of fake accounts on Twitter could be much higher. Irrespective of the numbers, fake accounts or bots are a real threat on Twitter. These bots can be programmed to behave like a normal Twitter user, which in turn can be used as a facade to cheat people. For example, users may be offered free gifts and asked to prove their identity by entering their card details on a fake website.
Donation scams - There have been cases where scamsters have created fake Twitter accounts that appear to be similar to that of top celebrities. On such accounts, followers could be asked to donate for a specific cause, such as climate change, feeding the poor, etc. Unsuspecting users may end up paying their hard-earned money to scamsters.
Get paid to tweet scams - You might get a message, offering you money to tweet about a specific brand, product, individual or organization. To get started, you will be asked to pay a small sign-up fee. This itself could be a scam or the fraudster may even try to steal your credit card details by asking you to follow a link and enter the card details.
Dating scams - A scamster can pose as a potential romantic interest, wherein ultimately you will be asked to visit specific websites and enter credit card details. Scamsters can use various fake stories such as sending you gifts, request for financial assistance, etc.
Reset password scam - You might get a mail from an email ID that looks similar to that of twitter domain name. It might tell you that a possible unauthorized access has taken place and if it was not you, the password needs to be changed immediately. If you follow the link, you will be asked to enter your old and new password. Once fraudsters have taken control of your account, they can blackmail you, access your personal messages, photos and videos and even demand financial assistance from your followers.
As is evident, there are various ways in which users can get duped on Twitter. You can protect yourself by following some simple rules such as not clicking on any suspicious link. Never enter your card details on an unknown website, no matter how genuine it may seem. Make sure login details you are entering is on proper Twitter domain and not a lookalike created by scamsters.
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