Hyderabad: Scammers are increasingly using social media platforms to promote fraudulent services, claiming they can unlock social media accounts, provide passwords, retrieve call histories, record calls, and even live-track other individuals for a fee.
These fake hackers are gaining significant traction, with some accounts amassing thousands of followers.
The scammers use posts which look professional to lure unsuspecting individuals. They are also putting up advertisements on social media platforms to get people hooked on their services.
These advertisements promise services that range from recovering hacked social media accounts to spying on partners or tracking someone's location in real time. The allure of these services coupled with the scammers' convincing presentation lead to many people falling for their deceit.
Once a victim shows interest, the scammers ask for an upfront payment. They use payment methods like bank transfers or UPI. After receiving the payment, the scammers block the victim.
These scam accounts also have thousands of followers, which can misguide people into thinking their services are legitimate. One such account holds 11,000 followers. In a telling sign of the fraud, a majority of the posts of this account does not carry any likes or comments.
Social media platforms are under increasing pressure to tackle such issues. While they employ various measures to detect and remove fraudulent accounts and advertisements, the sheer volume and sophistication of these scams make it a challenging task.
Users are urged to be vigilant and skeptical of any offers that seem too good to be true.
