DECORAH, Iowa (KCRG) – It’s no secret scammers are looking for victims on social media. Their methods are constantly changing. The latest one is preying on people’s emotions.
In a Facebook group in Decorah TV9 found a post that shows a disturbing picture of a young boy covered in cuts and bruises. The caption says he is in police care, but they have not found his parents.
Then they ask, “please bump this post”.
“Because people are human and they care, these attackers aren’t above anything, they’re going to use anything to their advantage. So these scams that we’re starting to see more of, the ebb and flow of those, they really appeal to people’s emotions,” said Brandon Potter with cybersecurity company ProCircular.
Experts with ProCircular are used to this type of scam, but many others are not.
“They start with something like this to get a lot of people to share it and what they can then do is edit that post to change the content completely,” said Potter.
Potter says once the post is shared, scammers change the message to include a link that could expose your personal data. The idea is that you’re more likely to click it if you see your friend shared it.
Winneshiek County law enforcement say they are diligent when it comes to saving people from these types of scams and others.
“Unfortunately the scams are getting so advanced that it’s becoming more and more difficult,” said Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx. “The biggest thing I would tell people is that before they engage in any transaction, or any relationship…seek a second opinion.”
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