Information from Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Stoke-on-Trent Scams Newsletter
This issue of Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Scams Newsletter includes information on the current scams that people in the city have been experiencing on social media.
Social media scams can spread quickly across the mail social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Social media scams are usually designed to appear genuine, using official logos, made up terms and conditions and false weblinks.
Clicking these links not only allows the scammers to harvest your personal details and steal money but it will also trigger the share feature to your connections. This means that friends and family are more likely to also fall for these scams.
Here are some of the most common scams on social media platforms, including:
- Phishing scams: Emails or direct messages with sketchy links that download malware or capture login credentials on spoofed websites.
- Romance: Friend requests and direct messages that attempt to create a romantic interest with the goal to steal money from the victim.
- Prizes or job offers: Claims designed to obtain personal information or money from the victim, including “You’ve won!” scams.
- Quizzes and games: Designed to elicit personal information in the answers through the kind of information people may use to create passwords or answer security questions for their online accounts.
- Charity pleas: Creating fake charities to get donations during times of disaster, using sites like GoFundMe.
- Fake investment offers: Scammers promise you a great return for just a small investment.
- Bogus brand collaboration requests: Fraudsters offer to pay you for promoting their products then steal your financial data when you provide them.
- Selling followers and likes: Ask you to pay a nominal fee in exchange for like or follow packages, but your financial data gets stolen when you send financial details.
- Giveaways: Entice you to try and win a prize, but then you will be asked to provide personal information or payment to claim your winnings.
- Impostor brand accounts: Sell counterfeit goods (or never deliver the promised goods at all) under the guise of a popular brand to drain your bank account.
This newsletter details what steps your organisation, staff, volunteers, and service users can take to protect yourself from falling victim to these scams. Read more here.
You can also find out more about the National Trading Standards Scams Team and how you can help protect others too by becoming a Scam Marshal.
Other issues covered in this newsletter include:
- Illegal money lending,
- How to take control of who contacts you, and
- Fake goods hotline number to report people selling fake branded items.
