Sentimental Facebook posts may be from scammers targeting personal details
/If over-sentimental stories of cute doggies lost on the rubbish heap tug at your heartstrings, beware — it could be a scammer at work.
Murdoch University social media and public relations lecturer Catherine Archer said the posts were likely to be from scammers and fraudsters who simply wanted your details.
Facebook feeds abound with pictures of forlorn animals, asking people to share and like so they know they are loved.
Likewise, posts featuring people begging for others to show they care by liking and sharing, to see how far the post can travel, can be a scam.
Ms Archer said the more a post tugged at the heartstrings, the more likely it was to be fake.
The lecturer said the number of connections people had had become important with the rise of social media.
"These days, it's measurable through how many likes we have. We know now that people pay for followers on Twitter.
"It's become an industry in itself."
She said a story or post that was picked up and widely shared created a high, which was why people kept going back
"Some of those of course are scams: organisations that are malicious, collecting your data," Ms Archer warned.
She said social media was always on the back foot as it created blocks to keep scammers out.
"Scammers will get round it. It definitely is buyer beware."
Social media is a vital marketing tool
Influencers on the web are important, and people are most likely to be influenced by friends.
For her PhD, Ms Archer studied bloggers, and mummy bloggers in particular.
"Marketers and public relations practitioners are seeking these people out. They know they have peer to peer influence, not only friends but cyber-friends as well," she said.
"They can move products, fashion, anything really.
"Coincidently, I just had a situation where a friend, a well-respected blogger, asked me to vote for her in a legitimate competition for the best blogger.
When I went to vote for her, I had to give away all my personal details."
The company involved was using the competition to collect personal details, as well as generating a buzz around the brand.
Ms Archer, who decided not to vote, said the lure was the big money to be had in data lists, with millions of dollars to be made.
If it's too good to be true...
Large legitimate businesses also are learning to use Facebook as a marketing tool.
"Bigger retailers and airlines have [in the past] created a voucher competition, which sounds great. People share it online," Ms Archer said.
"The [Facebook] algorithms mean that page will go up in people's feeds."
Ms Archer has surveyed mothers through Playgroup WA and found the evening television news ranked below Facebook for keeping up with the news.
Then there is the fear of missing out, with people not on Facebook risking missing out on invitations and great shares — things that can be discussed in real life.
Authenticity is the key to success on the internet. As soon as you learn how to fake authenticity, you've got it made," she said.
How to pick up the scammers
Ms Archer's advice is straightforward for people who want to avoid scammers.
- If the poor, sad or lost dog is not your friend's or posted by a known rescue organisation, do not like it. "Some of those are definitely the scams," Ms Archer said.
- If it looks too good to be true, if it's a competition where your response is 'I'm out of here', best not to share it.
And for those who were not fans of Facebook, Ms Archer had an illustration of how swift a rise and fall can be.
"I was reading an interesting textbook from 2008. MySpace dominated the discussion," she said.
"Facebook had one line."