Common Snapchat scams and how to avoid them

Snapchat’s massive popularity has made it a hotbed for malicious actors looking to scam unsuspecting users into handing over cash or personal information. Plus, with the ephemeral nature of Snapchat messages (or snaps), users may be lulled into a false sense of privacy (screenshots remain possible). This can lead to oversharing and accidentally falling victim to a Snapchat scam.

This post looks at the most common ways malicious actors exploit the platform for financial gain and identity theft. We’ll provide insights into how they work and offer tips on how to avoid them.

But before we get into the specific scams typically perpetrated on Snapchat, here is a quick word about phishing.

Social media scams all have a phishing component

You’ll likely notice this as you read on, but most of the scams listed in this article have a phishing component. When scammers go phishing, they send you a message – typically a text, social media, or email – in which they pose as a person or business you trust to lure you into sharing financial or other personal information or clicking on a malicious link to a phishing site.

They’ll give a seemingly legitimate reason for their request and usually compound that with a time constraint based on the situation’s urgency to get you to comply—and, of course, you shouldn’t. That’s the blueprint of a phishing attack, and as you’ll see, there are many different ways that blueprints can be adapted to Snapchat.

Account recovery scams

This type of scam affects every social media app and online service. The gist is that you receive a message or an email appearing to come from Snapchat itself stating that there is some irregularity with your account. The message will claim that your account has either been suspended or deactivated for whatever reason and that you need to follow a link to log into the service to recover your account.

The link is bogus; clicking it will only take you to a fake website under the attacker’s control. It might look like Snapchat, but when you enter your credentials, you’ll simply have handed them over to your attacker, who will promptly take over your account and lock you out.

Another permutation of the same scam is the “Friend account recovery scam.”

The scam follows the same playbook as above but with a twist: the attacker poses as one of your Snapchat friends. They will claim that they’ve been locked out of their account and that they need your credentials to log in because they forgot the Snapchat username. Scrolling through your Friends List will allow them to remember their username and regain access.

How to avoid account recovery scams

If you receive a message that appears to come from Snapchat and that claims your account has issues don’t click the link in the message. Attempt to log in to your account and verify if anything is amiss. If you log in and all is well, then it is a scam.

If you receive a Snapchat message from one of your friends asking for your credentials – for whatever reason – do not comply with the request. Keep your credentials private and consider unfriending the sender. A real friend will never ask you for your login credentials.

Romance scams

Because Snapchat is geared towards younger people and provides ephemeral messaging, the app has become quite popular for dating and hookups. However, scammers know that dating and romance put people in a heightened emotional state, which makes them easier to manipulate and exploit.

Snapchat romance scams can take different forms. In many cases, they don’t even start on Snapchat. Instead, you’ll meet the scammer on a proper dating app. After exchanging intro messages, they’ll ask you to move the conversation to Snapchat (or any other social media/messaging app). Once moved onto Snapchat, they’ll start asking you for photos of you you probably shouldn’t be sharing with strangers. Once they have a nice cache of your compromising photos, they’ll demand you send them money and threaten to release the images if you don’t comply.

Another popular variation of this one is: You receive an unsolicited Snapchat message appearing to be from a very attractive person. They flatter you with compliments and flirt with you, making you feel valued and beautiful/handsome, which can be disarming—and that’s the point. They’ll slowly start asking you for money, gift cards, pictures, videos, etc. Whatever they can get from you is a gain. They’ll either milk you for all the money you’re willing to give your new “lover” or get you to send compromising visuals to exploit you (for money) later.

Yet another variation of the Romance scam involves setting up a meeting with your new love interest. In this one, the scammer will display their location as being far from you but not too far – just far enough that they need to take a bus or a train to meet you. The trouble is that they can’t afford the ticket for X or Y reasons and need you to pay for it by sending them money (rather than a ticket).

If you comply and show up at the meeting point, you’ll find out that you’ve been stood up – they never showed up. If you head back to Snapchat, you will find that the account has disappeared. If it hasn’t, odds are they’ll come up with an excuse and propose another meeting following the same playbook (i.e., they need funds from you), and they’ll string you along for every penny they can eke out of you.

While the above scenarios are all different, they all have one thing in common: soliciting money or compromising material that can be used to blackmail into sending money.

How to avoid romance scams

Don’t send money to strangers you meet on dating apps or social media. Be suspicious when someone you just met on a dating app wants to move the conversation to a different platform, like Snapchat or WhatsApp. That should be a red flag.

Don’t send compromising pictures to people you don’t know and trust. While this may sound like a lesson in the obvious, younger folks in a heightened emotional state may not see it as such. But a stranger asking you for lewd photos – irrespective of the accompanying flattery – should be a big red flag, too.

Also, be wary of convoluted scenarios. Meeting up with someone for a drink – whether from a dating app or otherwise – shouldn’t be overly complicated. If it is, it’s probably not worthwhile and may be a tentative scam.

If you think the above is unlikely, remember that a similar romance scam recently made the headlines when a woman sent money to a malicious actor impersonating Brad Pitt.

Sugar daddy/sugar mommy scams

You open your Snapchat and find an unsolicited message from an older person stating they’re both wealthy and lonely. They also say they’re willing to pay you large sums of money and offer you gifts just for paying attention to them, which, they tell you, comes down to sending them a few messages daily. Sounds like a great deal, right? Wrong…

These scammers, once they’ve got your attention and have you thinking about what you’ll be able to do with that cash, will typically do one of three things:

1. Ask for an upfront payment to prove you’re serious and loyal. Once you receive the funds, they disappear.
2. They will ask for your banking details so they can deposit some money in your account. However, if you comply, the opposite will happen: they will empty your account.
3. Send you a fake cheque and ask you to use part of that amount to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards for them before the cheque bounces.

How to avoid sugar daddy scams

Be suspicious of people willing to pay you for your attention online. The fact is that there aren’t that many people who are looking to pay large sums of money to someone for a few snaps per day – regardless of how wealthy or lonely they are.

But even if that doesn’t trigger a red flag in your mind, this should: the person said they would pay you, not the other way around. If the first thing they do is ask you for some cash, that should set off alarm bells.

As for providing your bank details to online strangers, that’s not something you should do. Trust needs to be earned, not given, as they say. And the same goes for the fake cheque/gift card variation of the scam. You shouldn’t do it. But if you’re inclined to, at least wait for the cheque to clear (or not) before making any purchases for your sugar daddy/mommy.

Fake charity scams

You receive an unsolicited message after a major tragedy (flood, earthquake, wildfire, etc.), complete with heart-wrenching images of human suffering, asking you to please donate to help the victims. The tragedy is real, but the charity is not.

There’s likely to be a link to follow to make a donation, which will send you to a bogus site under the attacker’s control. If you enter your payment details, not only will you be sending money to your attacker, but you’ll also have handed them your credit card information.

Sometimes, it’s just another Snapchat claiming to collect funds to help the victims of a given tragedy – without the “official charity” front. While they may be for real, they probably aren’t, and once you send them money, you’ll be hard-pressed to figure out where it went.

How to avoid fake charity scams

Always research charitable organizations before donating. Official charities have registration numbers that you can use to verify their legitimacy. Make sure you do your due diligence and check those before handing over any money.

As for the random user collecting funds for a charitable cause, they may be doing that, but it’s a shot in the dark. Also, when you donate to an official charitable organization, those donations are usually tax-deductible, but the random-guy-on-Snapchat charity is unlikely to qualify.

This one is particularly pernicious as it preys on those trying to do good. We (unfortunately) live in a world where the well-meaning can be prime targets and must be careful.

General advice to avoid Snapchat scams

Here’s some more general advice on Snapchat scams:

• Don’t tip strangers. By that, I mean be very suspicious of unsolicited messages asking you for money – for whatever reason. Given the current state of the world, it’s more likely than not to be a scam.
• A budding romance and money don’t mix well. If you meet a romantic interest online and they ask you to move to another platform, that should be a red flag. That red flag should catch fire if they ask you for money (without even having met). Don’t send money to strangers online.
• Be mindful of offers that seem too good to be true. It’s doubtful, at best, that someone will agree to pay you large sums of money to message them a few times a day. They’re much more likely to attempt to draw you into a convoluted arrangement where you send them money. Don’t fall for it.
• Always keep your login credentials private. Don’t share them with anyone for any reason. It’s that simple.

General tips to keep your online accounts safe

The tips below always apply, and you should follow them regardless of whether you’re looking to avoid one particular threat or another on Snapchat or elsewhere.

• Be conservative with your PII online. Don’t sign up for everything. Don’t hand out your details to every site you encounter. Only share your information with sites and services you trust.
• Don’t open attachments in emails unless you know who the sender is and you’ve confirmed with that person that they really did send you that email. You should also ensure they know the email contains an attachment and understand what the attachment is.
• Don’t click links (URLs) in emails unless you can confirm who sent you the link and its destination. Contacting the sender through another channel (not email) might also be good to ensure the sender is not impersonated. Also, check the link for incorrect spelling (faceboook instead of facebook or goggle instead of google)? If you can reach the destination without using the link, do that instead.
• Use a firewall. All major operating systems have built-in incoming firewalls, and all commercial routers on the market provide a built-in NAT firewall. Enable both. You’ll thank me if you click a malicious link.
• Use an antivirus program – Only purchase genuine and well-reviewed antivirus software from legitimate vendors. Keep your antivirus updated and set it up to run frequent scans and real-time monitoring.
• Keep your operating system updated – You want the latest OS updates. They contain the latest security patches that will fix any known vulnerabilities. Make sure you install them as soon as they’re available.
• Don’t give in to “warning fatigue” if your browser displays yet another warning about a website. Web browsers are becoming more secure every day, which tends to raise the number of security prompts they display. Still, you should take those warnings seriously. So, if your browser displays a security prompt about a URL you’re attempting to visit, pay attention to your browser’s warning and get your information elsewhere. That’s especially true if you click a link you received by email or SMS – it could send you to a malicious site. Do not disregard your computer’s warning prompts; they could save you from a massive headache.

Wrapping up

So that was the low-down on Snapchat scams. While some may seem obvious to more seasoned netizens, younger audiences may not always spot a scam when it hits their screens. Hopefully, the above tips will help.

Remember to stay grounded and not let yourself be triggered into an emotional response. Always verify before sharing.

Stay safe.