It’s no surprise that criminals and scammers have found ways to take advantage of people on the platform, managing to earn an estimated three billion dollars a year from various cybercrimes.
So they exploit Snapchat with different strategies.
The reason is that they already know that Snapchat is one of the most popular social media applications in the world, with almost 100 million active users and 400 million snaps sent every single day.
So it’s a no-brainer to target innocent people on Snapchat as well. Scammers target people on all social platforms like Instragram, and scam Bitcoin on trading apps like Cash App.
Let’s see how people are often scammed on Snapchat and what to do if you got scammed on Snapchat.
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What are Snapchat scams?
Users claim that scammers are actually hacking into Snapchat accounts and assuming the identities of real users. There are many ways for this to happen, but the most frequent would be a data breach where user information, like login credentials, is exposed.
Scammers begin targeting anyone on a user’s friend list as soon as they have access to their Snapchat account. Scammers send messages to people acting as account owners and asking for help.
Snapchat Premium ripoffs:
In this Snapchat scam, the scammer creates a premium account with explicit content.
It’s easy to fall for premium Snapchat account fraud. Scammers will send you random messages advertising their premium accounts, which contain pornographic images and videos that have been appropriated from models or stars of the adult entertainment industry.
With premium scams, you obviously do not get any more sexual content; instead, you just end up with a financial loss.
These fraudsters will demand a subscription price from you in order for you to access their content; they generally use gift cards, Venmo accounts, etc. Then they will block you after you have paid.
Fake accounts:
This is comparable to a premium account, in which a fake Snapchat girl asks for money and sends inappropriate photographs and videos. The same person will add you with slightly different names.
Fake profiles often show attractive models and people flaunting cash, expensive items, and sports automobiles. Remember the saying while preventing yourself from fraud “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Signs of a fake account:
- Verify their Snap rating. If they are utilizing the platform actively, this will reveal it. It’s probably a scam if someone calls themselves an influencer but only has a Snap score of a few hundred.
- Have you seen the Snap map? Does the place they claim in their profile reflect where they actually live?
- Search Google Images for their profile or story photos. Scammers steal images from other websites and use them in their fake profiles. To find out where a picture originated, upload it to Google Image Search.
Romance scam:
These scams usually start on dating websites, but the scammer may ask you to talk on Snapchat. In order to trick you into thinking you are real, the scammer uses fake images and videos of attractive people.
A fake love interest on Snapchat may lavish you with flattery and praise, bomb you with cute emojis, and tell you all kinds of lies in an effort to win your heart and your money.
Signs of romance scams:
- The scammer will create a fake identities and act as a beautiful person looking for love in order to trick people out of their money and other valuables
- The scammer will arrange meetups where they will request gas money, but they will then make an excuse and cancel.
- The scammer will build trust and relationship with you through a dating app and ask for your Snapchat to get you to send your private clips.
Friends account recovery scam:
When your friend’s account shuts down. These scammers act as they are your friends, and
display a trustworthy persona. Once they have access to your account, they will change the password and hack into the Snapchat account of one of your friends, pretending to be them and attempting to “borrow” money from you. They might ask for your personal information, which they might then use to scam other people.
Snapchat Extortion scams:
If you are using Snapchat, you should be aware of sextortion scams. Criminals are targeting Snapchat users at an alarming rate, trying to extort money by threatening to release compromising videos or images that they have obtained through deceptive communication.
It’s a serious crime that can have devastating consequences for its unfortunate victims.
Snapchat extortion scams are becoming increasingly common and are often hard to spot. The scammers will create a fake but genuine looking user profile, send hundreds of friend requests and then flirtatiously communicate with all of those accounts until they are able to persuade an unlucky victim to start chatting
As I said earlier, they will first gain their victims trust by pretending to be interested in them and then ultimately convince them to video chat and share sexual content; this is when they begin to blackmail you. Once they have your private images and videos, they will demand money.
In 2022, a woman by the name of Amanda started a relationship on Snapchat with a person who turned out to be a scammer. She ended up sending her private photos and videos. When she refused to pay him money, he engaged in extortion, or “sextortion,” threatening to leak her videos.
Amanda sent her father’s money to the scammer, which was around £85,000 or over 105,500 USD.
There is no simple way to escape a sextort on Scapchat once it has begun. They will create a ton of fake Snapchat accounts so they can have a variety of false identities to use when seducing victims.
So what should you do if you find yourself in this situation?
If you are being scammed and blackmailed on Snapchat, follow these steps to protect investment. Usually, people don’t even know what to do when they are scammed online, that’s why we often share practical tips in all the articles.
Report to the police:
The first and most crucial thing to do is to report the police. While they might not be able to catch the offender, it is very important to have it noted that you were a victim of a serious crime, and the sooner you report it, the better.
Stop the communication:
If you have fallen victim of Snapchat scam, you should stop communication with the scammers. As you will communicate as you are making them realize that you are afraid and you can be tried again.
Report to Snapchat:
The next thing should be to report the scam to Snapchat.
At least, you are making Snapchat aware of the scammers and they can block them instantly!
Report to the FBI:
The next thing you can do is to report the scammer to the FBI’s internet crime complaint center. The IC3 is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, and they accept complaints about a wide range of internet related crimes, including sextortion.
Here is what FBI can do to recover your stolen crypto!
Reach out to OIS to recover scammed money:
If you have lost money on Snapchat and you can’t afford to lose that money, then you need professional help!
Reporting to FBI, Banks, police and Snapchat may or may not help you recover your scammed money because many scammers take money in crypto that makes recovery way harder than usual.
But when you seek professional help, they guarantee you success!
For instance, OIS offer Bitcoin scam recovery, Crypto scam recovery, Forex trading scam recovery, Binary option scam recovery or even pig butchering scam recovery services.
So, if you have lost something you don’t was to compromise on, you should reach out to OIS professional to help you recover you scammed money back.
recover@onlineinvestmentscams.com
How do you protect yourself from Snapchat scammers?
Here are the strategies you can use to protect yourself from Snapchat Scammers:
- Keep a record of every interaction you have had with the scammer, including calls, texts, messages, pictures, videos, and more.
- Find a support network among your family and close friends; blackmail victims need all the help they can get.
- Secure all of your internet accounts, including your email, bank accounts, business platforms, social network accounts, etc.
- Always report scams to the FBI, your local law enforcement, and professionals in the field.
- Making sure you never accept friend requests from someone you do not know personally is another way to safeguard yourself. Many people would accept friend requests from anyone, but by being selective about who you accept them from, you may protect your finances and your reputation.
- Make sure to always choose a strong password to stop scammers from accessing your account. Use at least 10 different upper- and lowercase characters, numerals, and symbols in a unique way. Never use this password for another account. Use a password manager to keep track of these lengthy passwords.
- Do not click on any suspicious links you may receive. This applies to both your email and Snapchat accounts. By clicking, you may be accessing a fake website and potentially exposing your sensitive information. If you receive an odd-looking link from a friend, ask them about it before clicking.
Final thought:
Nowadays, it is difficult to trust anyone. Despite the fact that there are various ways to avoid these clever Snapchat scams, scammers are getting more creative. Always remember to check the identification of anyone you communicate with online.
Knowing how to avoid falling victim to these scams might help you avoid wasting time and money.