Social Media Scams Are Trending, Ads Are at The Center of Their Success
Online scams are getting down to business. And they’re advertising, too.
Between 2021 and 2023, social media scams were a booming business. Americans alone lost $2.7 billion to scams originating from social media. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that the majority of people affected were 18-19-year-olds, attributing this finding to the greater amounts of time younger users spend on social media. But as art imitates life, so often do fake social media accounts and convincing social media ads from hacked ad accounts (we’re looking at you, Meta).
Why business accounts aren’t safe.
While investment scams were the most lucrative, the FTC found shopping scams were the most common – and they’re the most likely to create problems for your business ad accounts on social media. Verified accounts, ones with long histories, and those with significant followers are a hot commodity in the thriving underground market for stolen data.
Jordan Shea, Green Loop Marketing’s Senior Digital Ads Manager shares, “Scammers obtain stolen data from established accounts with functioning payment methods to run junk ads.” According to Shea, if not caught, the original ad account owner is removed from the account as it continues to bill the original payment method and run fake ads directing traffic to scam websites.
What you can do to protect your accounts.
The #1 thing businesses (and individuals) can do to stay safe is stop assuming that it won’t happen to you (see: Mark Cuban). The growth in the scams and the relative powerlessness of tech companies like Meta raises the odds of an account compromise.
The basics of good cyber security are the same for ads as they are for every other account. Use secure passwords and update them regularly (a trustworthy password manager goes a long way), avoid using the same password across multiple accounts, and establish two-factor authentication.
With robust tools comes the uncanny ability to mimic legitimate communications quickly and easily, leaving users behind the learning curve on spotting online scams. Know what scams are popular on social media, but recognize that everything from ads on your favorite website to emails in your inbox are becoming more sophisticated. Pay close attention to the details like email footers, misspelled words, and funky email addresses.
Getting locked out of an ad account and helplessly watching funds drain out of a bank account is a nightmare. Be sure to use credit cards instead of debit cards for ad payment, (or really anything you pay for online). Credit cards provide consumer protections absent with debit cards, and the lack of a direct link to your bank account is critical.
Monitor. Monitor. Monitor. Can’t be said enough. Monitor! Setting up digital ads and only paying attention to them occasionally leaves a lot of room for undetected hacking. Reviewing accounts regularly may not prevent hacks, but it does prevent more damage and provides opportunities to report scams faster.
How Green Loop helps.
Leveraging digital ads isn’t just a nice option, it’s becoming the option (and depending on the platform, more of a requirement) for businesses to successfully reach their audiences.
The Green Loop digital ads team prioritizes cybersecurity best practices for password management, along with closely monitoring client ad accounts.
Keeping up with the latest information, tools, and trends means the team keeps digital ads clients in the loop, too.
Learn more about scams at ftc.gov/scams and report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
After spending over a decade in businesses small and smaller, Una Hartzell-Baird shifted gears from leading a team to supporting teams--because writing is hard, but somebody has to do it. Bringing a background in sales, leadership, and business communication, Una helps business owners breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to written communication. From landing pages to white papers, Una brings a dash of humor and a serious commitment to efficient processes--her clients have what they need, when they need it. She's a writer and editor who makes your story shine and your audience pay attention. When she's not writing, she enjoys doing "research" on TikTok, time in nature, and homeschooling her son.