Tuesday, November 26, 2024

BBB: BEWARE SCAMS

BBB Warns of Social Media Video Scam: “Is This You?”

A BBB News_Header3

Have you received a Facebook message with a video link asking, ???Is this you???? If you have, don???t click the link. Delete the message and make sure your firewall and anti-virus software are up-to-date.

If you do click the link you???re taken to a website that appears to be Facebook or YouTube and asked to log in again. The scam is that once you provide your login information the hacker will have access to your account.

And once the hacker can log in to your social media account, they can hijack it to send other scam or malware to your friends.

People are more likely to click on links coming from someone they know than someone they don???t and the scam keeps spreading.

Clicking the link can also download malware or unwanted apps to your device.

Rule of thumb: if you receive unsolicited messages with content you were not expecting, do not click on any links.

Delete the message.

If you???re not sure whether or not it???s a scam, contact the sender directly before clicking any links to see if they really sent you the message. If they didn???t, it???s a red flag their account has been compromised.

It???s imperative to stay safe online. Don???t open links from websites or users you don???t know, and make sure your software is up-to-date and current at all times. BBB has more tips on phishing here.

To report a scam, go to BBB Scam Tracker.

To learn how to protect yourself from a variety of scams, go to ???10 Steps to Avoid Scams???.