Social Media Scams: 2019 Update

It seems the internet will never be completely free of scams, fake ads, and outlandish claims by companies and the products they sell. And 2019 is proving to be no different. Here’s the latest on what to look out for when browsing the web, scrolling your Facebook news feed, and clicking on those enticing ads.

1) Although Facebook has pledged to get tough on scammers, millions of users are still being targeted by fraudsters. Harry Rose, editor of Which? magazine, said: “Facebook has promised to tackle scams head-on so we’re disappointed that it took them a full 24 hours to remove our falsified ad, despite many comments flagging that it was fake.” Facebook and other tech companies urgently need to put systems in place to ensure their millions of users are protected from scams that could see them conned out of substantial sums.” A Facebook spokesman said: “We are taking action to stop fraud wherever it appears, and will continue to adapt to the increasingly sophisticated techniques fraudsters use to con people.

Just remember the old adage, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. And follow these rules:

• If an ad is endorsed by a celebrity, do not assume it is genuine.
• Never use a financial service advertised on social media without checking their background.
• Avoid filling out quizzes or surveys that ask you for personal details. They could be used to commit ID fraud, or target you with follow-up scams.
• Do not click, like or share posts you are unsure of. Opening links or downloading attachments could risk installing a virus on your computer.
• Be wary of unusual messages from friends if they contain links to “too good-to-be-true” offers or ask for money – even if the message has been sent via Facebook Messenger. A change in your friend’s style of writing is also a likely sign that it’s not them. Always contact your friend privately to check.
• Check your privacy settings and limit what is publicly visible. Facebook sets your friends list to “public” by default. So if a scammer creates a convincing copy of your account, it’s easier for them to target people on your friends list. Use Facebook’s privacy settings to change it to private or “friends only” instead.
• If you spot a suspicious post on Facebook, report it. Click on the three dots in the top right hand corner of the post and select “Give feedback”.

2) Because Millennials are constantly on social media, it provides the perfect scenario for scammers and fraudulent activity. Recently, Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific has seen a rise of scam activity occurring on Snapchat. The scheme targets young adults with an offer to make money through a “sponsorship” or “advertising opportunity.” They instruct the person to send money via gift cards to pay for “advertising” and then scammers request account login information to get on Snapchat and invite that person’s friends to be part of this “opportunity” and keep the scheme going. The victim’s login information is changed so they cannot login to stop it or warn others, leaving the scammer in control of the account until Snapchat is notified.

BBB has already identified these types of scams happening in Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and New York. Recently the Police Department in Boise, Idaho reported seeing it as well, with a local victim losing thousands of dollars. Because 71% of Snapchat users are between ages 18-29, it’s easy to see why so many young consumers might fall for it.

Anytime someone asks for your login information and/or payment via gift card, it’s a scam. Block that user, delete the message, and report them.
3) The last scam targets users on the other end of the age spectrum. The “Grandparent Scam” has been around for years, but variations keep popping and duping thousands of consumers every year. In 2018, an estimated $1.48 billion was reported stolen, with those over the age of 70 suffering the highest average losses, according to the Federal Trade Commission.


Typically, the victim receives a frantic phone call from a scammer posing as a grandchild or other family member. The “grandchild” explains that he or she is in some kind of trouble and needs help. The “grandchild” pleads to not to tell his or her parents and asks that they wire thousands of dollars for reasons such as posting bail, repairing a car, covering lawyer’s fees or even paying hospital bills. The caller is counting on an instant reaction from the victim by playing the sympathy card.
What you need to do first is verify the caller. Ask a personal question that only your grandchild or family member would know the answer to. Tell them you’ll call back and ask for a number; then contact your grandchild or another family member to determine whether or not the call is legitimate and confirm the whereabouts of the grandchild.
Never send money through wire transfer or other “sketchy” methods, especially to locations overseas. That is a serious red flag. Scammers also commonly use payment via prepaid card or gift cards.
If you do fall victim to the “Grandparent Scam”, report the incident immediately to the BBB Scam Tracker and local police.

SNAPCHAT: What You Need to Know for your investigations

Snapchat gained success soon after its launch due to its one of a kind feature. No matter what type of snap you post, no one could take a screenshot or save it without your knowledge. If you post a picture on your Snapchat account, it stays there for a good 24 hours and then it’s deleted. This feature empowers kids and teens to do and share whatever they want on Snapchat, without fearing to be caught. Which has parents concerned about the safety of their kids.


With users of all ages, it’s risky to let young kids and teens use a social networking app without keeping a check on their activities.
Unfortunately for parents, Snapchat does not provide a feature to view snapchat stories without the user knowing. Your account is protected as long as you have a unique password, are careful who you snap with, and you don’t reveal too much personal information.


But what many folks do not know that there now are multiple ways to spy on snapchat of anyone. Snapchat’s Built-In Spy Feature, Snap Map, gives you an opportunity to spy on your friends and know their location. Many users have probably come across this feature, but you might not think of using it as the Snapchat spy tool.


Snap Map displays information about all your friends who were lately available on Snapchat, and have shared their location with you. If you want to spy anyone or wish to surprise your friends by joining them randomly at a particular spot, Snap Map assists you by showing the recent movements of your friends. Activating this built-in snapchat spy feature is easy to do, would take just a couple of taps from your fingers.


If you want to be a little more incognito when spying, there are several apps available:

SpyAdvice tops all the other spying apps due to its exciting features. You can see complete tracking of all multimedia sent and received via Snapchat, view exact time of sharing of all photos and videos, access deleted media, see a record of recent keystrokes, and have real-time location monitoring with GPS tracking. SpyAdvice is not just a spying app; it is a complete package that enables you to hack someone’s snapchat without them knowing – and get access to every single activity of the user.


If you prefer a free option, checkout Snapch. This spying tool uses various VPNs which entirely masks your presence. Your targeted user will never doubt any external access to its Snapchat activities. Through Snapch, you can freely get your target users snap stories, chat logs, and even login information. This empowers you to get instant access to your target’s Snapchat account instantly without any spy app.


Another option is Snapchat Photo Grabber. Though this tool is not as smart as the others, particularly the SpyAdvice, you can still use it as a quick option to access anyone’s Snapchat account. This handy tool will let you access your target’s snapchat account within minutes.


Although spying is constantly being debated as legal or illegal, sometimes it’s more important to get involved in order to protect your loved ones from bullies, predators, or criminals. Obviously no one is going to share their secret activities with you, therefore, you have a reason to spy on the Snapchat account of anyone you doubt or want to keep protected online. If you wish to protect your child as a worried parent, desire to keep an eye on your spouse, or want your staff to be sincere with their work instead of wasting time on Snapchatting – then it indeed is your right to spy their Snapchat accounts.

About Us:
We have been mining social media since 2007 for our clients. By utilizing best in class software programs, we offer a service called eChatter.
eChatter works with you to obtain your objectives in a fast, accurate and reliable facet. By keeping our strengthened principals, yet evolving with this industry, we lead in social media monitoring. Since 2007, we have been dedicated to providing our customers with the most authentic data.

We offer:
• Deep Web Scans
• Jury Vetting
• Jury Monitoring
• Quick Scan

www.e-chatter.net
(866) 703-8238

What Is a VPN and Why Should You Have One?

The best VPNs, or virtual private networks, can help secure your web traffic and protect you from anyone who wants to steal or monetize your data.

Think about how much information about yourself you transmit over the internet. Frightening isn’t it?
Now think about the safety measures you have put in place to protect your information? Do you feel a sense of panic? That’s completely normal considering the amount of hackers, spies, and thieves trying to gain access to your personal data.

One of the best ways to protect yourself is to use a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN creates a virtual encrypted tunnel where all of your internet traffic is routed through, securing your data from prying eyes. Best of all, your computer appears to have the IP address of the VPN server, masking your identity and location. When your data reaches the VPN server, it exits onto the public internet. If the site you’re heading to uses HTTPS to secure the connection, you’re still secure. But even if it was intercepted, it’s difficult to trace the data back to you, since it appears to be coming from the VPN server.

Let’s think of some specific scenarios in which a VPN might be useful.

1) Consider the public Wi-Fi network…at your favorite coffee shop, local mall, or airport. You connect to their Wi-Fi without a second thought. But did you ever stop to think who might be watching the traffic on that network? How can you be sure the Wi-Fi network is legit? Think about the passwords, banking data, credit card numbers, and private information you transmit every time you go online. Keep in mind that just because it’s called Starbucks_WiFi doesn’t mean it’s really owned by them. There are snoopers everywhere trying to access your information.

Now, If you connect to that same public Wi-Fi network using a VPN you can rest assured that no one on that network will be able to intercept your data.

2) Another concern regarding internet security is related to two groups: the NSA and your ISP.
The NSA’s surveillance tool is massive and at one point had the ability to intercept and analyze just about every transmission sent over the web. But when using a VPN, your data is encrypted and less directly traceable back to you. This doesn’t make you invisible, your traffic and information could still be intercepted. But a VPN adds a layer of encryption during parts of your online traffic’s journey.

Your ISP may already be involved in spying operations, using information about you to fuel the growth of companies like Facebook and Google. Those companies are able to gather huge amounts of data about users, and then use it to target advertising or even sell that data to other companies. ISPs are now allowed to bundle anonymous user data and put it up for sale.

“ISPs are in a position to see a lot of what you do online. They kind of have to be, since they have to carry all of your traffic,” explains Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) senior staff technologist Jeremy Gillula. “Unfortunately, this means that preventing ISP tracking online is a lot harder than preventing other third-party tracking—you can’t just install [the EFF’s privacy-minded browser add-on] Privacy Badger or browse in incognito or private mode.”

What Your VPN Can’t Do
VPNs can only do so much to protect your online activities. If you really want to browse the web anonymously, you’ll want to use Tor. Unlike a VPN, Tor bounces your traffic through several server nodes, making it much harder to trace. It’s also managed by a non-profit organization and distributed for free. Some VPN services will even connect to Tor via VPN, for additional security.

If you do decide to get a VPN, do your homework. A recent investigation into 115 of the world’s most popular VPN services revealed that many are negating their stated claims. To build trust, providers make promises not to track users through logs or other identifying information. The Best VPN recently revealed that 26 out of the 100 biggest VPN services are collecting files that could contain personal and identifying information — things like your IP address, location, bandwidth data, and connection timestamps.

Also consider the other devices you use to access the internet. Smart home devices and phones can’t run VPNs. So the solution would be to install a VPN on your router. This encrypts data as it leaves your home network for the world wild web. Information sent within your network will be available, and any smart devices connected to your network will enjoy a secured connection.

Ultimately, it is up to individuals to protect themselves. Antivirus apps and password managers go a long way toward keeping you safer, but a VPN is a uniquely powerful tool that you should definitely. Whether you opt for a free service or even go all-in with an encrypted router, having some way to encrypt your internet traffic is critically important.