Kik Scams and How to Avoid Them?

There are more or less 15 million active users in Kik. 7.2 million of it is from the United States of America.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also received 2.4 million fraud reports in 2022.

As stated in Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2021, one of the biggest reasons for these fraud reports is imposter scams which account for 17.16%. It includes identity theft and credit bureaus, info furnishers, and report users.

These scams could be happening on chat apps like Kik. In this article, discover how scams on Kik work and how you can avoid them. 

What is Kik Messenger?

Kik is a mobile chat application that works on Android and iPhone. This app is popular among kids, teens, and young adults. In fact, 40% of American teens use Kik.

In Kik, users would only need a username or another social media app account to create an account. Kik is free to use, like WhatsApp and Viber. 

Kik offers the following features:

• One-on-one chatting

• Anonymous messaging

• Promotion chats or accounts 

• Group chats 

• Sending messages, photos, videos, GIFs, etc. 

• Explore public groups
• Scanning unique Kik codes

If you're a parent, this app is something you may want to be careful about. Kids can be prone to online scams, which is one of the most common dangers on the internet for kids. 

Ensuring that you have good cybersecurity tools for your kids, like monitoring their online activities is important to protect them against scams and other possible online threats in Kik. 

What is a Kik Scam?

A Kik scam is simply a fraud that happens on Kik. A lot of these scams can turn into blackmail, where someone asks for money or something else in exchange for not revealing any embarrassing messages. 

Kik bots and catfishing are the two biggest types of scams on Kik. Catfishing on Kik happens when someone takes advantage of the anonymity feature of Kik. Scammers use fake personas and identities to fool targets. 

Understanding how Kik scams work can help you protect yourself from the consequences of falling into these scams. 

How Kik Scams Work?

If you're using Kik, you may notice its social media integration. You can invite people through text, email, Twitter, and Facebook. This feature can attract scammers. 

Here’s how scams often happen on Kik:

1. Someone may chat with you and prompt you to click on a link. This link would take you to another website and ask for your private information. Scammers may take this chance to put spyware on your phone. 

2. As the conversation progresses with strangers, predators may blackmail their victims for sexual favors or money in return for not revealing information that may damage the victim. 

3. Malicious links and blackmails can lead scammers to hack or take over your account. It may lead you to become a victim of identity theft as well. In identity theft statistics, there has been an amount of $918 million of child-related identity theft losses. 

These Kik scams may cause harm or damage to your Kik account, bank account, or personal affairs. 

Taking precautions to avoid these types of scams can save you time and financial resources. 

How to Avoid Kik Scams

Falling for a Kik scam can have significant consequences on a person’s life. This is why it’s important to always make sure that your transactions are safe. 

These steps may help you avoid Kik Scams: 

• Don't click malicious links.
• Don't send money to a person you met online. 
• Don't give personal information like phone numbers, real full names, or login credentials. 
• Don't trust strangers who are too friendly to be true. 
• Do your own research before believing the claims. 
• Keep your devices' security features updated. 

Apps or websites like Social Catfish can help you with people searching and verifying professionals. Make sure that you secure your data by verifying the identity of the people you are talking with on Kik. 

How Social Catfish Can Help You Avoid Kik Scams

Social Catfish is a tool that can be used for different things. But most people use it to make sure they are who they say they are on relationship sites. 

This website has features such as:

• Names Lookup
• Reverse Image Search
• Phone Lookup
• Physical Addresses Lookup
• Username Lookup

Social Catfish is easy to use. In fact, it can be much harder to find the first information needed for a search than it is to look at it with this tool.

Just type something into the bar, and the tool will tell you what to do. Some of the tools, like looking up a name, require you to look around a bit until you find the right one. 

Verifying the identity of the person you’re talking to over the internet can help you save yourself from scammers. 

Key Takeaways

• Don't give phone numbers, full names, passwords, and emails to strangers on Kik. 

• Block and report an account when you think it's a scammer. 

• Don't trust strangers right away. Verify their legitimacy using websites like Social Catfish. 

• Take security measures on your device for another layer of protection against scammers. 

• If you become a victim of a Kik scam, you may report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

Bottom Line

Kik is an app that can be a great platform for connecting with friends, family, and community members. Yet, this may not be the reason for some people. Others may be using this app to scam innocent users. 

Don’t get fooled by strangers who are too friendly to be true. Verify their identities through reverse name lookup features like Social Catfish.