TikTok’s #BeCyberSmart Offer Tips To Prevent Romance Scams This Valentine’s Day
TikTok has introduced a series of tips to protect its users’ hearts and wallets from romance scams during Valentine’s Day in conjunction with the next phase of its #BeCyberSmart campaign.
Tips to avoid getting scammed on Valentine’s Day with TikTok’s #BeCyberSmart campaign
The cyberspace is teeming with scammers eager to prey on lonely hearts, and romance scams are on the rise, with victims losing large sums of money. TikTok’s #BeCyberSmart campaign aims to educate its users about the dangers of cybercriminals posing as potential love interests online. Consider the following security tips:
- Take it slowly – Swindlers are quick to profess their love and remove conversations from apps. They frequently try to entice victims with romantic texts, emails, or phone calls. It is best to vet your new crush by asking questions and paying attention to inconsistencies that may reveal your crush to be an impostor.
- Keep your funds (and personal information) to yourself – Don’t send or exchange money via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency if you’ve never met in person, and don’t share personal information such as your bank account, home address, or other sensitive information if you’ve never met in person.
- Don’t play games – Reverse image search tools such as images.google.com can assist in conducting a reverse image search of someone’s online profile photo. If the same photo appears on another site with a different name, a scammer may have stolen it. If you receive sweet emails or text messages that seem too good to be true, copy and paste the text into a search engine to see if anyone else has encountered this potential fraudster.
TikTok also encourages creators to cut off all contact immediately if something appears to be wrong. Creators can also report suspicious activity in-app to the TikTok Safety Center. Find out more about the #BeCyberSmart campaign and TikTok’s efforts to provide a safe and welcoming environment for users here.
Pokdepinion: Thank you TikTok for these tips. I know a few friends who have been catfished and scammed through social media and dating apps and the outcome is not good. Hope people would take these tips seriously to avoid getting scammed themselves.
