Be suspicious of anyone who unexpectedly contacts you on social media. Scammers use these platforms to gain your trust and steal your money.

Scammers set up fake profiles on social media,  messaging platforms and apps. They may pretend to be a friend, family member or interested in a relationship. They impersonate the government, real businesses, employers and investment or online trading platforms.

They may:

  • impersonate celebrities or public figures to recommend and promote products or services (these include AI-generated 'deepfakes' and fake news)
  • use the logo of real organisation they are pretending to be
  • use other people's photos and identities to create fake profiles to make friends with you and gain your trust.

Scammers learn a lot about you from what you share on social media, and deceive you into sharing personal information. They use this to guess your passwords or target you with other scams.

Warning signs it might be a scam

Stop and think. It could be a scam if the post or message:

  • shows or suggest that a celebrity or public figure recommends or promotes a product or service
  • comes from someone you've only met online or by phone, urgently asking for your money to help pay for a personal emergency
  • threatens to share a private image of you unless you pay them money.

Social media scams use common tactics like:

  • offering a way to make quick, easy money with little risk or effort
  • inviting you to enter a competition or limited time offer
  • offering to buy something you're selling for a high price without seeing it first
  • offering items for much lower prices than usual or compared to other sites
  • saying they live overseas and can’t meet you in person.

Steps you can take to protect yourself

These simple steps can help prevent loss of money or personal information to scams.

Make sure the person is who they say they are

  • Research profiles to check how long an account has been active, how many friends or followers they have and how much activity they have had online including posts and photos. Lack of history, detail and followers can be a sign of a fake profile.
  • Be wary if a job is offered to you without an interview, or discussion about your experience, suitability, and references. Research the recruiter and the business or individual offering the position. Contact the recruitment agency via phone numbers sourced from an independent internet search.
  • If an offer appears too good to be true, it probably is. Research any investment opportunity fully before investing money. Visit MoneySmart for advice.

Be careful about what information you share on social media

  • Never send money to a person you have only met online
  • Never send personal pictures of yourself to someone you have only met online

Think you've been scammed?

  1. Act fast to stop any further losses

    Contact your bank or card provider immediately to report the scam. Ask them to stop any transactions.

    Change passwords on all your devices and online accounts like banking, email, government and shopping.

  2. Get help to recover

    IDCARE is Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support service. They can help you make a plan (for free) to limit the damage. Call them on 1800 595 160 or visit their website to find out more.

  3. Report the scam

    Once you have secured your details, you can help us try to stop the scam or to warn others by reporting the scam to us.

Common Social media scam types

Investment scams icon

Investment scams

If you're looking to make money through investing, watch out – scammers have created all sorts of fake opportunities to get you excited and take away your cash.
Romance scams icon

Online dating and romance scams

Scammers use dating or friendship to get your money. They work hard to make you think the relationship is real, then manipulate you to give them money. Romance scams leave you broke and broken-hearted.
Product and service scams icon

Product and service scams

Scammers prey on consumers and businesses that are buying or selling products and services. Not every transaction is legitimate.