Why Scammers Want Your Social Media

Social media accounts are valuable to scammers in two ways. First, they mine your profile for personal information they can use in targeted scams — your birthday, where you work, your family members' names, your pet's name (which might be your password).

Second, if they hack your account, they can impersonate you to scam your friends and family. "Hey, I'm stuck overseas and lost my wallet, can you send me £200?" from your real account is far more convincing than from a stranger.

Lock Down Your Privacy Settings

Most social media accounts default to showing more information than you need to share publicly. Here's what to change:

  1. Set your profile to "Friends only" or "Private" instead of "Public."
  2. Hide your friends list from public view — scammers use it to identify your family.
  3. Don't list your phone number, email address, or home location publicly.
  4. Review what's visible on your profile when viewed by "non-friends." Most platforms let you preview this.
  5. Turn off location tagging on posts and photos.

Be Careful What You Share

Even with privacy settings locked down, the content you post can reveal information that helps scammers:

Those "fun" Facebook quizzes asking for your first pet, mother's maiden name, and the street you grew up on are collecting the exact answers to common security questions. Never participate in them.

  1. Birthday posts reveal your date of birth — a common security question answer.
  2. Photos of your home, car, or neighbourhood reveal your location and financial situation.
  3. "First day of school" posts often include your child's name, age, and school name.
  4. Holiday countdowns tell burglars when your house will be empty.
  5. Quizzes and "fun questions" ("Your rapper name is your pet's name + your street name!") are social engineering designed to harvest security question answers.

Recognising Hacked Friend Accounts

If a friend's account has been taken over, you might receive messages like:

If a friend sends you an unusual message — especially with a link or a request for money — contact them through a different channel (call them, text them) to verify it's really them.

  1. "Hey, have you seen this video of you?" with a link — clicking it steals your credentials too.
  2. "I'm in trouble and need money urgently — please don't tell anyone."
  3. "I found this amazing investment opportunity, you should check it out."
  4. Messages about cryptocurrency, miracle diets, or "you won't believe this."

Essential Security Steps

Do these now to secure your accounts:

  1. Enable two-factor authentication on every social media account.
  2. Use a unique, strong password for each platform.
  3. Review which third-party apps have access to your accounts and remove any you don't recognise.
  4. Check your login activity regularly — most platforms show you where and when your account was accessed.
  5. Be skeptical of friend requests from people you don't know, especially if they have very few friends or a new account.