Background
Australians have lost more money to social media scams than any other contact method so far in 2024, according to Scamwatch reports. Over 6,000 people reported losing $58.3 million to social media scams in the first 10 months of 2024.
Scammers use fake or hijacked profiles on social media, messaging platforms and apps to steal money and personal information. Scammers will also try investment scams, romance scams and job and employment scams using social media.
The National Anti-Scam Centre is constantly working to reduce scams. We’re leading a job scam fusion cell to coordinate government and industry efforts to crack down on job and employment scams. In the last 3 months the fusion cell has taken down over 200 job scam websites.
How to spot the scam
Scammers use social media to steal your money. They do this by:
- offering a way to make quick, easy money with little risk or effort
- advertising a job that requires payment for training or access to work tasks
- inviting you to enter a competition or limited time offer
- saying they will buy something you're selling for a high price without seeing it first
- selling items for much lower prices than usual or compared to other sites
- saying they live overseas and can’t meet you in person.
How the scam works
You are contacted on social media or messaged by someone you don’t already know. The scammer pretends to be a friend or romantic interest, a financial advisor, or a business offering an employment opportunity.
They learn a lot about you from what you share on social media and deceive you into sharing personal information, which they then use to target you in other scams.
What you should know
There are simple steps you can take to help avoid social media scams:
- Make sure the person is who they say they are. Research profiles to see how long they have been online, how many followers they have, and what kind of activity they have.
- Be careful if anyone makes a job offer without an interview. Research the recruiter or agency making the offer.
- Research any investment opportunity fully.
- Never send any money or personal details to someone you have only met online.
Find out more
This scam is a type of social media scam.
Scammers set up fake profiles on social media, messaging platforms and apps. They impersonate famous people or people you know so that they can steal your personal information.
Stay protected
STOP – Don't send money or hand over personal information to anyone you have only met online. Always remember, if a deal or an offer appears too good to be true, then it probably is! Be wary if you are offered employment without an interview or if a prospective employer asks you to pay for training or access to work tasks.
CHECK – Research the recruiter and the business or individual offering the position. Beware of fake social media profiles. Always check how long a social media account has been active, how many friends or followers they have and how much activity they have had online, such as posts and photos. A lack of history, detail and followers can be a sign of a fake profile.
PROTECT – Report any suspicious contact or activity to Scamwatch immediately. Your report will help protect others. And if you do lose money to a scam, you should contact your bank or financial institution as soon as possible.
If you’ve been affected
If you’ve been the victim of a scam, don't be embarrassed. It can happen to anybody.
If you have given your personal information call IDCARE on 1800 595 160.
When you report the scam, the people who read your report understand how you are feeling. You are not alone. Contacting support services can help you understand what happened but also tells authorities about scam activities so they can work on making it harder for scams to succeed.
Help others by reporting scams to Scamwatch.