Top Facebook Scams and How to Avoid Them in 2024

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world. With up to 3 billion monthly users, it’s a place for people to catch up with their friends and family, seek out some entertainment or even get their news.

With Facebook being such a popular platform, it’s not surprising that scam artists actively try to use it to seek out and dupe their victims. For example, one of the most famous phishing scams reached as many as 10 million Facebook users.

Facebook is ripe with scams, but we still don’t have a silver bullet for them. So before we develop a universal solution that will end all social media scams, we’re here to help you stay safe online.

Some of the universal tips you can use to stay safe are avoiding all suspicious-looking links and checking the links and accounts before interacting with them. You can also use USA VPN to conceal your IP, so your details will stay hidden even if you interact with a scammer online.

We’ve listed all the most widespread and dangerous Facebook scams so you can be prepared the next time some hacker tries to scam you.

Phishing Scams

Phishing scams have been around since the dawn of the internet and are still the most popular way for cybercriminals to mess with their victims. Phishing scams are used to collect targeted individuals' personal information, most frequently for other criminal activities.

Phishing scams on Facebook often look like this: You will receive a message on Facebook saying that your password has been compromised or that you’ve been tagged into an unflattering photo, anything to get you to click on the link attached to the text. Pressing the link will take you to a fake Facebook login page, which will collect your Facebook login info and send it to attackers.

The Fake Loans

The format of the “Fake Loan” scam is easy to spot. You may see a FB post talking about loans with incredibly low-interest rates. All the company or an individual will ask for in return will be a small advance fee.

Usually, these posts involve some inspirational background story or an attempt to create a false front of an experienced, competent person or company. A sign of distinguishing between fake and real offers is broken English. These scammers will rarely take time to proofread their texts. But even if the text is written in perfect English, don’t trust someone’s words on Facebook, especially when your money is at stake.

Fake Facebook Lives

This is one of the more elaborate scams to watch out for. You may see a live video featuring a celebrity. The name will be spelled correctly, and the preview will feature what looks like a preview of this celebrity's Livestream. Usually, scammers will take part of the previous live stream celebrity has done to reuse it for this purpose. The fake live stream will be branded as a live “competition.” You may see something like “The first person to join gets a gift” or something along those lines.

While not all celebrity live streams and even giveaways are a scam, always check the authenticity of the profile before you click on the Livestream to avoid getting scammed.

Also Read: Best Facebook Alternative Apps