Verification Scams on Social Media Platforms on the Rise

Social media users care a lot about the type of status on these platforms, especially if you’re a rising influencer or content creator. But how far would you go to get verified or obtain the blue badge on Instagram, for example? 

Social media platforms are warning users about verification scams that are on the rise to dupe people into giving out their personal information. Social media influencers and businesses are sometimes into the vanity metrics that they lose touch of what truly matters — sales, user engagement, app downloads, and more. Instead, users aim to get that blue check badge on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, for example. 

And this is where scammers and hackers strike their prowess in phishing or coercing users to give their personal details. This is through verification scams. 

FTC Report their Findings on these Verification Scams

Since the beginning of the pandemic, businesses and individuals have relied more on social media to boost their online presence. Due to lockdown restrictions, the online space proved to be a more promising avenue to get your message across. Scammers saw an opportunity to offer users fake promises in exchange for their personal information. 

In a report from the Federal Trade Commission, these social media scams proliferated in 2020. The FTC reported that these scams and losses have started on social media sites. Moreover, the losses have tripled in the last year, skyrocketing during the second quarter of 2020. 

In 2019 alone, the reported total loss from these social media scams amounted to $134 million. In addition to that, the losses were at a record high during the first six months of 2020, amounting to $117 million. The scams came in various forms, such as income opportunities, online shopping, romance scams, as well as economic relief. 

FTC carries a list of eCommerce sites that didn’t deliver, with Facebook and Instagram covering 94 percent of these scam-related occurrences. 

Verification scams take a huge slice of the losses

On top of the other scamming methods, verification scams are also one of the easiest to implement. This is due to the social status symbol that up-and-coming influencers, content creators, and small businesses long for. 

One social media user who promises verification and followership augmentation for social media pages is causing authorities to enhance web security systems. Enver Ceylan claims to be a Turkish social media consultant. 

One of the digital services he offers is growing your Facebook or Instagram accounts. A blue badge that means a user is verified is the holy grail in social media. This badge is typically reserved for notable figures, and Ceylan promises this. 

On Ceylan’s website, a TikTok verification form is displayed that asks for a user’s personal details. The form asks for the user’s address, phone number, and password. However, when the CNET team tried it out and filled out the form to test it, the form then disappeared. The entire website also went blank, then appeared again in Turkish, which was a bit dodgy. 

CNET approached TikTok, and the social media platform then confirmed that Ceylan’s verification form wasn’t legitimate. 

Scammers target influencers and accounts with big follower counts

Moreover, social media users with a vast following are considered primary targets by scammers like Enver Ceylan. Joe Biden and Kim Kardashian’s accounts were hacked in 2020. Scammers also go as far as duping users to send bitcoin to a crypto wallet in exchange for doubling the bitcoin amount. 

Another Instagram user, marion_digital, sent a direct message to one user, promising more followers and verification. This user asked $2,200 for 100,000 followers. According to Instagram, they never DM users for their personal details. Plus, buying followers also goes against the social networking site’s regulations. 

This series of scams have prompted Instagram to establish a new form of security called Security Checkup. This system will guide users with hacked social accounts through steps to secure their profiles. This includes reviewing profile information, checking login activity, updating account information, and confirming accounts.