Scammers Are All Around in the Social Media

Hi there! It's been so long since my last post. Anyway, my topic for now is all about scammers using the social media especially Facebook victimizing netizens.

I stopped temporarily writing blogs when vlog came into existence and got popular. A vlog (short for "video blog" or "video log") is a type of video content where a person or creator shares their experiences, thoughts, or daily life in a storytelling format. Vlogs are typically published on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram.

So much about vlog. Let me share with you all about scammers and their activities.

What I noticed nowadays is the rampant existence of scammers in the social media most especially Facebook.

Scammers on social media use various tactics to trick people into giving away money, personal information, or access to their accounts. Here are some of the most common scams:

1. Phishing Scams

Scammers send fake messages or emails pretending to be from a trusted platform (like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube) to steal login details. They might claim:

"Your account is at risk!"
"Verify your account now!"
"You won a prize! Click this link!"

2. Impersonation Scams

They create fake profiles using stolen pictures to impersonate someone famous, a friend, or a business. Then they:

Ask for donations
Claim you won a giveaway
Pretend to be a romantic interest (romance scams)

3. Investment & Crypto Scams

Scammers promise huge profits if you invest in their "scheme" (often fake crypto or forex trading). They show fake testimonials, edited bank statements, or photos of luxury cars to appear successful.

4. Fake Giveaways & Prizes

They claim:

"Congratulations! You won!"
"Claim your free iPhone!"
"Send a small fee for processing!"

But in reality, no prize exists, and they just take your money.

5. Job & Work-From-Home Scams

They promise high-paying jobs with little work but require an "upfront fee" for training or registration. Sometimes, they trick people into laundering money.

6. Romance & Emotional Scams

Scammers build online relationships, gain trust, and then ask for money due to a "medical emergency" or "travel costs" to meet you.

7. Hacked Accounts & Fake Endorsements

They hack a real person's account and send messages to their friends promoting fake investment schemes or selling "discounted" items.

Most people nowadays especially from the Philippines, are longing to work either on-site or online due to high percentage of unemployment and under-employment. Moreover, netizens are also looking for means on how to earn money online the quick and easy way.

How I identify scammers in Facebook in particular? Most of them do the following:

Scammers often use fresh accounts with minimal activity
They have few or no friends
The have no personal posts or photos
Many scam accounts have weird names (most are fictitious), excessive symbols, or misspelled words.
They offer investments that promise unrealistic returns
They offer big sum of money in dollars for a simple task like typing job, conversion of image to text or PDF files.
They require you to send first money before releasing payment for the task done
Most if not all scammers want to communicate with you using Telegram

That was what I had experienced when I investigated what really are their operations doing. Take note that these people will chat with you using Telegram app. Here are several reasons why they love using Telegram:

1. Anonymity & Privacy

No phone number verification for contacts – While Telegram requires a phone number to sign up, users can hide it, making it easy for scammers to remain anonymous.
Encrypted & Self-Destructing Messages – This helps scammers erase evidence of fraud quickly.

2. Lack of Strict Moderation

Unlike Facebook or WhatsApp, Telegram has looser content moderation, so scams and illegal activities can persist longer before being detected or removed.

3. Fake Bots & Groups

Scammers create fake bots or groups pretending to be official customer service, crypto investment firms, or tech support.
Many "giveaway" or "investment" groups are filled with fake members (bots) to appear legitimate.

4. Easy File & Link Sharing

Telegram allows sending large files and links, which scammers use to spread malware, phishing links, and fake documents.
Many scam groups share fake testimonials, edited screenshots, and fake bank receipts to convince victims.

5. Cryptocurrency & Dark Web Connections

Since Telegram allows users to remain semi-anonymous, many scammers operate in crypto scams, selling fake tokens, fake trading signals, or Ponzi schemes.
Some scammers sell stolen data or run fraud operations on Telegram’s underground channels.

6. Impersonation & Fake Support Scams

Many scammers pretend to be customer support from platforms like Binance, MetaMask, or even banks.
They tell victims their accounts are "locked" and ask for login credentials or private keys to steal money.

Allow me to share with you only two topics: Investment & Crypto Scams and Job & Work-From-Home Scams.

Investment & Crypto Scams

First, I will share with you all about Investment & Crypto Scams. Scammers share the same process on how to bait you in joining investments with them. They engaged prospect victims in Facebook by posting things like how to earn money by doing simple things like copy paste, liking products in a specific website, etc.

Initially, the victim (joiner) will contact the ad poster by sending private message. The ad poster will explain everything all about the task. She (most of the ad poster are women) will give the details and how much will a joiner earn. Then she will refer the joiner to contact somebody via Telegram (somewhat a mentor, trader or a receptionist).

To continue with, the person whom you will contact via Telegram will guide you all about their system. A brief introduction about their services and she will show you the schedule of all capital and profit to get after trading. They call their services GCash Trading and Investment System wherein you need to send money to them via GCash and they will trade your money in Bitcoin. She will promise you to get back your investment 10x in 3 hours (sounds really a scam). If she got your approval of investing in any amount, say you choose P1,000, she will direct you to their Trader also via Telegram. The Trader will request you to submit your name, GCash number and the amount you sent to them as your investment. He will assure to update you soon. This is how the scam starts. After a few minutes, the Trader will inform you "due to the unbalanced stable of bitcoin now at the market we can't be able to trade your 1,000php to generate your profit. All you have to do now is to add up your investment as soon as possible". The Trader will request you to send additional P2,000. See how they easily get your money? Adding up your investment is no longer a possibility because you will end up draining your GCash wallet. Well, if you add more money to invest, that's up you.

Another scam deals with clicking the heart icon in a merchant's product on a notable website. Transactions also entails Telegram as the medium of communication. The deal is very much simple, the person whom you are chatting with in Telegram will give you the product's link. You will have to click the heart icon besides the Add to Cart button, take a screenshot, and submit it to the Receptionist. Three submissions within 20-30min time you will receive P100 directly to your GCash wallet. Sounds good? The process will continue until they end their session around 9PM. You are so glad you earned money by simply hearting a product. The next day will be crucial. You will repeat the same process and still earns the money, but, in between the process, you will be allowed to choose monetary values to send to the Trader so as to receive a commission plus the money you sent plus P100. This might sound good to you, and the lowest monetary option is P900. Well, if you have enough funds in your GCash wallet, why not dare? So, you choose P900 and dare to invest. The Trader will invest your money to a Cryptocurrency website. After trading, they will give you back your P900 plus the commission and the P100 reward. Sounds good? Okay, the next step is to continue hearting products and still you earn P100. Take note, in between this process, you are now allowed to repeat the previous process of choosing amounts to send but at this point of time the smallest amount is P2,900. Now is the decisive point in dealing with them. Are you really sure to invest P2,900 or not. Okay if you still have enough GCash funds. The twist is, if your wallet is low compared to P2,900, the Receptionist will convince you to send to her the money you have (let us say you only have P1,000 left in your GCash wallet) as she can talk with the Trader for you and even assures you that you can still get the refund plus the bonus amount. Here goes the scam. After waiting for the Trader's response (seems like no actual Trader exists), the Receptionist will inform you that the "Trader does not agree with this amount, you need to pay the remaining amount to quality, which is P1,900". So, what will you do now if that happened in your case? Do you think you can still trust the Receptionist and send to her P1,900?

That's how scammers do. They will drain up your GCash wallet with the promises of gaining or earning from their system.

Job & Work-From-Home Scams

As with the above topic, you can find them in every Facebook page that offers Job Hirings, etc.

The ad poster will ask you first if you can handle the task, say, retyping PDF files into Word. If you are interested because of the offer, the ad poster will refer you to the Contractor via Telegram (again). The Contractor will explain you about the task which is to be completed within two (2) days, and you will earn $1,500 (wow, what a catch). Guys, if you were offered a big sum of money especially in dollars but the task is very simple, STOP right away.

So, you tried to do the task with the hope of earning dollars although somehow you will get curious about its legitimacy. After submitting the task (of course you need to have your files copyrighted), the Contractor will now ask you were to send the payment (usually he will show you how much money you will receive). After you send to him the bank details (GCash is not listed in the mode of payment app), he will then ask you to send to him $1,000 as processing fee for the bank transfer. Boom! You're now scammed. Take note, all task projects with the assurance of earning big sum of amount are scam. Don't send your bank details if you doubt that you are dealing with a scammer. I lose nothing but time although I enjoyed retyping the PDF files into Word. The bank account number I gave him is not the real one after sensing that it is a scam since he did not complain that the files I sent to him in PDF format were all copyrighted and cannot be copied/modified, I twisted two numbers in between. Yes, there is a program/app that restricts your PDF files from being modified and copied when viewed over the browser or a PDF reader.

Here are a few tips on how not to be scammed.

How to Spot & Avoid Telegram Scams:

✅ Never trust unsolicited messages – Real companies don’t DM first.
✅ Be cautious with Telegram investment groups – Most "guaranteed profit" offers are scams.
✅ Verify official accounts – Check for a verified badge or cross-check contact details on the company’s official website.
✅ Don’t click unknown links – Many lead to phishing sites or malware.
✅ Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) – This protects your account from hacking.

How to Stay Safe:

✅ Verify profiles – Look for suspicious signs before trusting a new friend request.
✅ Never send money – Even if the person claims to be in an emergency.
✅ Check links carefully – Hover over them before clicking to see the actual URL.
✅ Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) – This adds an extra layer of security to your account.
✅ Report and block – If you suspect a scam, report the account to Facebook.

As always, when dealing with someone whom you don't know online, never trust that person especially if the transaction has money involve. Stay safe everyone. Thank you.