BBB warns of social media account takeover fraud

JACKSON, Tenn. — The different ways scammers are trying to get your information are endless. We are always committed to providing you with information as we learn it.

The most recent scam that the Better Business Bureau is alerting us to has to do with social media.

Todnetta Trice with the BBB of the Mid-South told us exactly what the scammers are doing with social media accounts.

“When they’re hacking into your page, they are sending out additional friend requests,” Trice explained. “They are also messaging your family, your loved ones, your friends saying ‘hey, I am in a bind. Do you think you could send me some money?'”

You may be wondering how the scammers are getting your account information. It turns out there are numerous ways they can do this.

“They buy stolen usernames and passwords on the dark web. They send phishing emails and text messages. So a lot of times you will get that message saying ‘hey, your account has been compromised, can you click this link,'” Trice said.

There are certainly some signs that will alert you to the fact that an account has fallen victim to one of these scams.

“Unable to log into your account — and that is one of the tell-tale signs,” said Trice. “He was unable to log into his account, but all of his family and friends were being bombarded with messages from him, claiming to be him, and asking for money.”

Do not click on links or attachments from unsolicited messages of any kind. Make sure you are using strong passwords that are different from other accounts you use. Also, enabling multi-factor authentication can help keep you safe.

Social media platforms do not have customer service call centers. You would need to put in a request with the platform and await a response, and some people never recover their accounts.

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