Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, Telegram, Discord, Snapchat, Realme, Xiaohongshu. The list of platforms that people use today to search for and form their own communities goes on. Social media’s influence on business, politics, culture, and education is widespread; close to 90% of Singapore’s population are users of social media, leaving little surprise that it is commonly used as a tool for driving users to take a desired action. While the intended purpose of social media is for users to share knowledge, express themselves, connect with friends, or even have conversations with like minded people or thought leaders they do not personally know, many bad actors have surfaced alongside. These bad actors create fake profiles to lure users into revealing sensitive personal and financial information, which makes it critical for users to be aware of such social media advances.
Social media has allowed scammers to easily target individuals and companies who are not alert, which makes them vulnerable and susceptible to these scams. However, with a bit of care, it is easy to identify scammers’ methods and stay on guard. When you find yourself confronted with a potentially fishy or phish-y situation, consider the following carefully before taking the next step:
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1. Check the company’s official website for all verified social media platforms they are using
Often, companies link their official social media accounts on the official website. Click into the listed social media profiles and match them against any notifications you receive from someone who claims to be representing that company. If the account names or handles do not match, the best course of action is to ignore the suspicious message or report it to a relevant authority.
2. Do a background check on the company. Search online for the company’s name plus “scam” or “complaint”:
If the suspect is really a fraud, it is likely you are not the first one to receive a suspicious message; many online scammers work in large groups and have countless victims, so you are likely to find a similar report online.
3. Beware of fake social media accounts and pages!
Check through the information presented on any social media accounts and pages that you come across in order to determine whether they are legitimate or not. Some of the red flags are:
- The account was created recently
- The account has irrelevant comments
- The account has ‘random’ followers
4. Avoid links that claim to be providing instant loans with the submission of few details or getting you extremely high returns on your investment.
Perform a sense check. Use your judgment. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
5. Beware of connection requests from impersonation accounts.
Sometimes, scammers set up fake accounts on social media platforms by using publicly available photographs of people and/or company logos. One way you can determine the inauthentic nature of the account or connection is by checking how many people are connected with these profiles, what they have posted in the past, or how they are connected with you. And finally, whether it makes any sense to you.
6. Do not share your personal information on any social media platform as legitimate companies will not ask you to do so.
You might see many fake profiles, accounts, and pages on social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, and Instagram claiming to be Funding Societies | Modalku.
Please do not respond to them, and if you have any doubts or concerns of their legitimacy, please contact us via the details listed here or on our official website.
Disclaimer: The information provided to you in this blog post is intended only for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice on any subject matter. The materials and the information provided are not intended to be and do not constitute an advertisement or solicitation. In no event will Funding Societies be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages for use of such information by you or any unauthorised third party.
