Hi Steemians!
I wanted to share my experience about romance scam.
A few weeks ago there's a guy send me a really encouraging messages on my email. I don't answer his email but he still send sweet messages as if we're a couple.
!
The recent one is he sending me some stuff that I doubted really bad.
So I tried to look online about scammers technique and found out that these kind of messages is one of their technique to encourage someone. I didn't provide any personal information because it's not normal for someone to send expensive things to the fact that we never really got the chance to talk.
According to my research: https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/jacksonville/news/press-releases/beware-of-romance-scammers-looking-for-more-than-love
JACKSONVILLE, FL—The FBI Jacksonville Division is warning residents to take caution when developing new relationships online, as they could be targets of the romance scam. According to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3), Florida is among the three states with the highest number of victims of confidence fraud.
The criminals who carry out romance scams target victims via social media with the intention of establishing a relationship as quickly as possible. Romance scammers spend hours honing their skills and sometimes keep journals on their victims to better understand how to manipulate and exploit them. As a way to avoid meeting in person, romance scammers often claim to work in the construction industry and engaged in projects outside the U.S. Eventually, when they feel they have gained the trust of their victim, these criminals will request money for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fee.
In 2017, over 15,000 reports of confidence fraud were reported to IC3, with losses of approximately $210 million. Confidence fraud results in the highest amount of financial loss to victims when compared to other online crimes.
===============================
SO JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDERS
===============================
Don't be a victim of identity theft in social media!
Identity theft takes place when crooks collect personal details of individuals, without permission, and use it to:
- Apply for credit cards and/or bank loans
- Gain access to bank account details
- Create bogus social media accounts (posers)
Social media platforms hold a ton of confidential information. This is why identity thieves are always lurking online, keenly searching for personal information such as birthday, mobile number, email address, hometown, current geographic location, school you went to, company you are affiliated with, names of family members connected to your account, etc. which are publicly shared.
Protect yourself from identity theft. Configure the privacy settings of your social media accounts properly:
Limit who can look you up through your contact information and keep your social media accounts off search engines. The contact information you have submitted upon account sign-up can be used by anyone to search for your account and browse through your profile. Hide your account from individuals who are not in your network and restrict public access to your profile.
Control and select the audience who can view your posts. Keep pictures of your family or posts about your current location private and avoid sharing these information outside your network. Configure the accessibility and privacy restrictions of your account accordingly based on the social media platform's settings.
Avoid publishing personal information. The availability of your personal information online is an opportunity for identity thieves to steal your identity. If needed, share personal details only in trusted and legitimate websites.
Be safe everyone!
Love
Jona