You Have Unread Social Media Messages!

Date: 07/20/2017

Scammers hope you’ll be enticed to click the link, but don’t fall for it.

Who Is It Targeting: Email and social media users

What Is It: Phishing scam that installs harmful software on your computer

What Are They After: Social media can be a very useful, very entertaining tool, and scammers know that most of us have accounts. By emailing you a spoofed email—meaning it looks like it came from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or other platforms, even though it’s completely fake—and telling you that you have unread messages, they can get you to click their link.

When you think you’re clicking through in order to read these messages, you’re actually installing a virus on your computer. The link contained this harmful software, rather than any important messages.

How Can You Avoid It:

  • Never click a link or open an attachment in an email or text unless you were specifically expecting it or confirmed it with the sender.
  • Don’t fall for spoofed emails. If you receive a seemingly important notice, don’t click through to the account but rather exit out and check your account yourself.

Find more information about current scams and alerts here. For full details of this scam check out this article from IDTheftCenter.org


If you think you may be a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at (888) 400-5530.

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