It is unfortunate that despite the fact that Mark Zuckerberg created the largest social networking for positive purposes, there are still people out there trying to ruin that by operating scams on social media, ignoring the original purpose of why it was created from the beginning. As a person who provides social media services for clients, I found it irritating that scammers are lurking on social media like the plague. The most annoying part is; they are ruining genuine people or business on social media – the people and the entity that actually have nothing to do with the scam. Let’s talk about the real life example. Most of us might be familiar with the online dating app like Tinder, right? The creators of Tinder made genuine purposes to connect people around the world together so they can meet their, well, soulmate, or whatever it is you call your future partner in this day and age. The scammers, however, have ruined the app reputation by scamming people out of their money under the disguise of ‘love’. They put on a fake profile picture, using someone else’s photo and they started using the app to find their targets. When they found one that seemed to be an easy prey, they would start their love drama until money was involved. Sadly, many scammers are still on Tinder and this has ruined the app reputation and its purposes. Now every time I mention Tinder, my friends would say, “Uhh, Tinder? I don’t think so. There are so many scammers there nowadays. The app is not reliable anymore.” This is what’s ironic; the app doesn’t do anything bad, but it gets dragged into the mess. From this, we can learn that building a business is not only about building your brand, but also keeping your business reputation clean. Whether you are collaborating with another company or someone is trying to use your company’s name for fraud, it is important to spot scammers on social media from the start before they are scamming you. In this article, I’m going to tell you how to prevent yourself from being scammed on social media. Keep reading to learn more!

Don’t be easily tempted by a deal

Collaboration is one of the most effective ways to gain more audience and generate more leads. However, you have to be careful when choosing a business partner especially when you are going to start your social media campaign. If you are not careful, your plan might back fire you one day. If there is another business offering you collaboration, see the deal first. Don’t be easily tempted by a deal, especially if the deal seems too good to be true.

Check their branding

A company with inconsistent branding is either too amateur to the business world or they are just a scammer. Either way, it’s not good for collaboration. Also, consider their logo. Does their logo design have the standard of design and care for presentation? If a ‘company’ is designed too carelessly, chances are, it is the kind of scammer that has an intention to attack your business.

Contact the company

Sometimes the only way to understand something is by having a direct conversation with it. Search for the company’s real homepage and contact them through a social media business profile or email address or telephone number you can find there. When you talk to them directly, you can spot anything strange or if there is something that seems to be off.

Advertisements can also be a scam

Just because you see advertisements on Facebook or Instagram, it doesn’t mean they are genuine just because they are ‘paying’ for advertisements. Setting up an ad on social media is not expensive – anyone can afford that. The scammers are willing to invest their money in social media ads just to gain more money. Don’t be fooled, just stay alert. My friend was cheated out of her money by an online shop that posted an ad on Instagram as if it was real, remember that.

When it comes to the online world, never expect things because things can become unexpected. We never know what the future holds. For that reason, never easily trust someone on the internet. Always make sure you know the types of social media scams that you need to avoid. Notify your workers and brief them a little bit about business protection against scam. That way, you can protect your business from scammers more effectively.