Common Scams on Facebook

The most common scams on Facebook include fake giveaways, job offers, coupon codes and unsolicited friend requests. However, there are many less obvious ways that you could get scammed on Facebook. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 51% of fraud reports on social media started on Facebook in 2023.

Continue reading to learn about the 10 most common types of scams on Facebook so you can be aware of popular tactics used by scammers.

1. Fake giveaways

Scammers will pretend to be well-known companies and create giveaways in exchange for your personal information. For example, imagine you scroll through Facebook and stumble upon a giveaway for a brand-new flatscreen TV. The rules of the giveaway are to like, comment and share as much of the company’s content on your Facebook account to gain more entries into the giveaway. After a certain timeframe, the company notifies you that you’ve won the flatscreen TV. All you will need to do is provide personal information, such as your credit card number, to claim your prize and pay a shipping fee. At this point, if you haven’t realized that the giveaway is fake, you should recognize that a company asking for credit card information over social media is most likely illegitimate. Scammers create these fake Facebook accounts to impersonate popular companies, so make sure you message the legitimate company directly to confirm that they are running a giveaway before sharing any private information.

2. Charity scams

It may be difficult for any altruistic person to believe that scammers would create fake charities to steal money, but it happens often on Facebook. Scammers create accounts to impersonate well-known charity websites and request donations for medical bills, natural disaster relief, local animal shelters and many other causes. Unfortunately, when enough people fall for a specific charity, the scammer takes the money and runs. Before donating to any charitable cause on Facebook, make sure the charity’s website is legitimate by searching for the official website and verifying the person running the fundraiser. If the organizer is not legitimate, you should not give them any personal information or money and should report the scam.

3. Romance scams

Do you think you might have met your soulmate on Facebook? Don’t be so quick to believe people’s intentions, as you may be getting catfished. A romance scam occurs when a scammer creates a fake identity and expresses romantic interest in you over social media or online dating apps. Typically, a scammer will try to gain your trust and learn about you intimately to appear convincing, either by communicating frequently with you or stalking your Facebook profile. However, after several days or even weeks, they might claim they’re having an emergency and need you to send them money. Some examples of these emergencies could be a last-minute plane ticket, funds for a significant medical procedure or help after a car accident. Always be cautious if someone shows intense romantic interest in you online, as scammers move quickly to get your money as soon as possible.

4. Fake job offers

According to a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center, job scams increased by 118% in 2023. Scammers have been offering fake jobs to people searching for work-from-home jobs, asking for private information through fake job applications. For example, you may see a remote job offer and notice that the job application requires your full Social Security number (SSN) or bank account information. Check the job description thoroughly before entering any personal information, as an extraordinarily high salary and exceptional benefits may be indicators that the job is a scam. If you aren’t careful enough and do enter your personal information, you risk having your identity stolen by a Facebook scammer.

5. Fake coupon codes

If you love a good sale, be cautious of the coupon codes you try to use from Facebook. Scammers may create fake coupon codes while impersonating legitimate businesses and require you to click a link and enter private information to unlock the savings. If you see a code for a familiar business, check the business’s official website to see if they are offering any promotions or coupon codes. Remember that a real store will not ask for your email address, credit card information or SSN to access a coupon code.

6. Fake friend requests

There’s always that one friend or family member who creates a second Facebook account for one reason or another, but what if you receive a suspicious-looking friend request from someone you think you know? Scammers know that it’s easier to steal your private information or money if you believe you are communicating with a mutual friend or family member. By creating a fake account designed to mimic the account of someone you know, a scammer can clone the account entirely using their posts, bio information and profile picture. If you believe this fake account is just one of your friend’s extra accounts and accept the friend request, the scammer can message you and potentially convince you to send money or click on malicious links. Whenever you receive a friend request from someone on your friend list, reach out to the person to verify whether they have made another account. If they did not, report the fake account to Facebook and warn others about the scammer.

7. “Is this you?” links

You may receive a message from someone on your friend list about a picture or video you’ve been tagged in, asking, “Is this you?” The message will contain a link, but if you click on it out of curiosity to see what you’ve been tagged in, the link could contain malware and infect your device. Make sure to think before you act, even though the scammer will use urgent language and incite curiosity about the content.

8. Facebook marketplace scams

Although Facebook Marketplace can be a great place to buy and sell items, it is also filled with scammers. Some of these scammers are sellers, hoping you’ll want to buy their desirable item at a very low price. Since everyone loves a deal, you’ll be happy to find the item you were looking for conveniently on Facebook and send a reasonable payment to the seller. However, if you’ve sent money to the seller on a third-party site and the seller has moved your conversation off of Facebook Messenger, this is most likely a scam and Facebook will be unable to help recover both the item you wanted and your money. Make sure to use a secure payment method, unlike Venmo or CashApp, when buying from a stranger.

In other instances, scammers will impersonate hopeful buyers and ask if they can send you a check for your item. You might be wondering how this is part of a scam, but the trick is that the check will bounce, and you won’t receive any payment for the item you may have already shipped. A scammer could also overpay you for an item and ask you to refund the extra money. After you’ve done this, their original payment will have been revoked and you’ll have lost money in the process.

9. Facebook quiz scams

Besides keeping up with your friends’ lives and posting status updates, you can take fun quizzes on Facebook. However, you should be cautious of random quizzes, as they may have been created by scammers to obtain your personal information. For example, you may be taking a quiz to find out which character you would be on a popular TV show when a question appears asking for your mother’s maiden name. This should be a clear sign that the quiz is seeking answers to security questions that could be used to steal your identity. A well-known company would most likely not ask these types of questions, so make sure any quiz you take on Facebook comes from a legitimate brand.

10. Phishing emails and messages

One of the most convincing Facebook scams comes in the form of phishing emails and messages. Scammers compose and send fake emails that appear to be from Facebook to try to gain access to your Facebook account. For example, you may receive an email from Facebook claiming that you need to update your password immediately or else your account will be deactivated. If you click on the link provided in the phishing email and enter your login credentials, a scammer will be able to log in to your Facebook account and potentially steal your personal information. These types of phishing attacks utilize spoofed websites, which are websites designed to look like the legitimate company a scammer is impersonating. In this instance, you may be directed to a spoofed website that looks almost identical to Facebook’s official website. However, you should check that the sender’s email address ends in @facebook.com. Make sure the link in the email is safe by copying and pasting it into a URL checker like Google Transparency Report.

Stay alert and protected from Facebook scams

Since Facebook and all social media platforms are so commonly used, it’s important to be aware of the most popular types of scams you could fall for if you aren’t careful. If you fall for a phishing scam or share your personal information with a scammer through one of these Facebook scams, you should take action to secure your accounts. Start by changing your password and consider using a password manager like Keeper^®. Keeper Password Manager not only creates strong passwords but also stores them in an encrypted space, offering extra protection for your online accounts.

Start your free 30-day trial of Keeper Password Manager today to protect your Facebook account and other online accounts from scams.