Preventing fraud on social media

Social media is prevalent in most, if not all of our lives and for the most part, it's a great way of connecting with friends and family and passing the time. Also, it makes communication easier, brings communities together, and even creates new job opportunities!

However, sadly, social media is one of the channels used by fraudsters to manipulate consumers into handing over their private details.

That’s why it is vital that you are careful with how you use social media - especially in a day and age where many of us record our day-to-day life on these platforms.

In September 2017, Action Fraud reported that there were around 272,980 fraud offences in the UK in the previous 12 months.

The BBC even document a case of a man being tricked into handing over £8,000 to Twitter fraudsters posing as his bank.

But how can you make sure that your social media is safe from fraudsters?

Keeping your identity safe on social media channels 

Be careful who you add - Avoid adding strangers. Once you’ve connected with them, they’ll potentially have access to some of your data that will help them commit a fraudulent attack.

Regularly change your passwords - You should change your password regularly just in case anybody has access to your account already, or if you’ve left it logged into a public device.

Check privacy settings - To prevent strangers from being able to access your profile, you should change the relevant privacy settings so they cannot see your content.

Avoid giving away personal details in your username and bio -  Although this is not crucial, it could be the difference of whether a fraudster can access your account or not. For example, the username “JoeBloggs1966” would indicate that they’re born in 1966 - which may be a hint for the password.

Be careful what you post about - Avoid posting any personal details in your social media content. If you don’t have the correct privacy settings, these details would be available for the whole world to see.

Be wary of fake profiles - Quite often, fraudsters will create fake profiles of people you know and they will try and connect with you. The best way to avoid these profiles is to speak to the subject in person and ask if the account is theirs.

Preventing fraud can help you prevent monetary loses as well as delicate and private information being shared and distributed with people who shouldn’t be able to access it.

To equip your staff with the correct knowledge in preventing fraud, try our Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training course. It's broken down into 5 sections that cover the definition of fraud, how to detect fraud, how to prevent fraud, explaining external fraud, and how to report fraud.

Think your staff could benefit from our Fraud Awareness and Prevention Training course? Click here to claim your no-obligation free trial!