Reddit is the place to go if you want to find a community that shares your interests, whether you want to read the news, speak about your hobby, ask for advice, or debate your favourite band.
But if you use Reddit or want to use it, you should be aware of these four typical frauds in order to keep secure.
Catfishing
A deceitful activity called catfishing involves the perpetrator pretending to be someone they are not. Utilizing facts and photos from other people, the catfisher often constructs a false persona.
Although catfishing is frequently considered a problem associated with online dating sites, that is not all there is to it. Not all scammers who catfish do so because they are depressed, bored, or just looking to pick on someone. Some use it to obtain money from their victims in order to make money. The prevalence of catfishing on Reddit and the fact that it affects people of all genders may be inferred from a quick Google search.
There are numerous methods a catfish might use to defraud their victim of money. After building trust with the victim, the attacker can request a present, a PayPal donation, or fabricate a situation in which they need money in bitcoin.
The best thing you can do to prevent being catfished is to trust your instincts. You should cut off communication with anyone you meet on Reddit if they seem too good to be true, their stories do not add up, or they are refusing to video chat or call. In these cases, they are probably not who they claim to be.
Spam rings
While reading a subreddit, a link to an article that seems intriguing appears at the top of the subreddit's front page. The thread's comments are all favourable, too, but clicking the link takes you to a website with lots of adverts and subpar writing.
How did this story get so many likes that it made the first page? And why are users praising it when it is obviously horrible in the comment section? The link most certainly did not get to its current location naturally; instead, a spam ring—a group of users who cooperated—posted and upvoted the link.
You can find dozens of companies selling both if you simply search for "buy Reddit upvotes and accounts" on Google. While some service providers sell old accounts with loads of karma or even entire subreddits, others offer services that combine posting and upvoting links.
Black hat online marketing is nothing new, but thanks to Reddit, spammers can reach a large audience with very little money and effort. In fact, all a spam network really needs is a bunch of Reddit accounts and a trustworthy VPN service.
Undoubtedly, there are more effective and better ways to run a spam ring or advertise a product. In actuality, this has its own subreddit. It is essentially a community of people that search Reddit for what they think are advertisements and unnatural postings, and it is called r/HailCorporate.
Phishing frauds
Phishing is a sort of cyberattack in which a threat actor assumes the identity of a reliable person or organisation in order to get the personal information of a victim. Although phishing attempts are frequently conducted via email, they can also be found on social networking sites like Reddit.
Private messages and conversations on Reddit are both excellent channels for con artists to distribute phishing links. A skilled cybercriminal would create convincing material, hide their malicious link, and figure out a means to reach as many individuals as they could with their message.
They might even upload their phishing link to less tightly controlled subreddits, which would likely broaden their audience. In other words, a con artist may utilise Reddit to launch highly effective and targeted phishing campaigns with a little imagination and technological know-how.
And while it's likely true that redditors are younger and more tech-savvy than the typical internet user, it's simple to understand how letting your defences down for a split second may lead to a lot of trouble, including disclosing your personal information and possibly becoming a victim of cybercrime.
This is why it's crucial that you never click on shady links, double-check every website, and carefully study any message from a person you've never met before.
Crypto frauds
If you're interested in cryptocurrency trading or simply want to learn more about digital currencies and how they operate, Reddit, which has hundreds of active cryptocurrency forums, might be a terrific resource. But if you're careless, you can lose your money to a fraud.
If you participate in Reddit crypto conversations, it's likely that you've seen a private message from someone promising to double your money or pushing a new coin you've never heard of. Most people avoid falling for these scams because they are very obvious, but some are more subtle.
For instance, it is common to run into'shills' in the crypto groups on Reddit. They are referred to in this way since the majority of their accounts are used to advertise a specific cryptocurrency or digital good. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that these users interact with one another and upvote one another's comments and posts in order to provide the impression that the product they're promoting is trustworthy.
Utilize reddit carefully
You should always read the rest of someone's remarks when they're praising a new digital currency you've never heard of to determine whether they're being sincere or just trying to artificially raise the value of what is most likely a worthless digital asset.
Like the majority of social networks and discussion forums, Reddit draws users from all walks of life. Regrettably, this also applies to scammers of all stripes including cybercriminals. Despite the fact that most Reddit forums are regulated, catfishing, phishing, spam, and cryptocurrency scams continue to go unnoticed.
Remember this the next time you access your account. While you're at it, create a strong password, enable two-factor authentication, and keep in mind that no matter how reliable they seem, you should never disclose important information with other Redditors.
