Social Media: a scammer's playground
This article is the third in a series of four, by Nikita Mohile
“I saw your profile here, and I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward, but I think you’re pretty hot, and your posts prove you’re very intelligent. I would love to connect!” - Iamnotreal
Everyone who has had a social media account, especially on Facebook, has received a message similar to the one above in their feed at some time. Trolls who aren’t picking out anyone for their looks or their knowledge; they’re just casting a line and hoping to hook someone. Anyone.
Social media helps us connect to people anywhere: family, friends, and even scammers. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) states that Canadians reported 1,520 social media fraud cases in just the first three months of 2025. Almost 90 per cent of these reported cases resulted in victimization, meaning people lost money to fraudsters. In total, Canadians lost over $44.6 million to social media scams in the first quarter of 2025. In 2024, the total amount lost was $144.1 million with 5,565 reported cases, at a victimization rate of 88 per cent. When looking at total dollar loss, social media is responsible for the highest amount. It is also among the top three most-reported types of fraud.
It goes without saying that social media is an increasingly large part of our lives. And fraudsters capitalize on that fact. Because of the accessibility of apps and the vast amount of personal information people put on social media, scammers can easily obtain an understanding of someone's social patterns. This information is especially useful for carrying out sophisticated scams. According to the CAFC, fraudsters "create fake accounts, social media bots, compromise existing accounts and create fraudulent advertisements to scam social media users" using data found on social media.
For example, by finding information about a person's relationships or interests, a fraudster has a better foundation for impersonation. Upon creating these fake accounts, they have the ability to conduct a variety of scams.
One such scam is the romance scam, which led to $9.1 million in losses in the first quarter of 2025. Fraudsters form relationships with victims and quickly profess their love to build trust. Once trust is gained, they ask for money, often citing emergencies, restricted access to funds, unexpected legal or business fees, or travel expenses. The CAFC notes that romance scams peak around Valentine's Day and "rely heavily on victim emotions and may last for months, years, or until the victim has nothing left to give."
Sometimes, this can lead to pig butchering scams, a type of relationship investment fraud. This occurs when the victim is convinced to invest in fake cryptocurrency platforms with the promise of high returns, but with no way to withdraw the investment. The scammer may also show fake profits to entice the victim to invest more.
To protect yourself, the CAFC recommends avoiding accepting friend requests from or investing money in platforms provided by people you don't know, sending money to unknown crypto accounts, giving out personal information, and clicking on suspicious links.
Even if a profile looks believable, it is best to "be wary of profiles that seem perfect in their photos." To double-check, professionals recommend using Google Images or the website TinEye.com to reverse search an image and see where it has been used.
Signs of a suspicious account include a large number of followers with few posts, a fast engagement rate, and the use of unnatural wording.
To protect your account from being impersonated, use a strong password and multi-factor authentication, set your account to ‘private’ instead of public, and avoid sharing sensitive details or login information. If you suspect an account is fraudulent, social media networks have the option to report and block it.
Along with social media scams, QR code scams have been on the rise. Since anyone can make a QR code, they can be used to embed malicious links. To avoid falling for these scams, the CAFC says to "hover over the QR code with a device camera, without agreeing to proceed to the website" and to "never scan a QR code to receive a payment." When you hover over a QR code, it shows the URL, letting you check if it is a genuine website.
While social media and QR codes make life easier, they also create opportunities for scammers to exploit trust and emotions. Fraud can cause financial loss as well as a large emotional toll, making it critical to report it to Durham Regional Police at drps.ca and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at antifraudcentre.ca or 1-888-495-8501. For more resources, the CAFC publishes regular bulletins and fraud alerts on their website.
Our next article will look at investment fraud and the effects of fraud on mental health.