With technological advancement, there is a rise in chat applications in the market today. There are few chat apps that users in the United States of America (USA) are fond of. One of these chat apps is LINE.
LINE is a chat app that allows users to experience free messages, video calls, and voice calls. There are currently 178 million LINE users all over the world.
Unfortunately, its popularity also attracted scammers on the app trying to make a quick buck off unsuspecting users.
In this article, explore the five most common scams on Line and the ways to avoid these scams to protect your online privacy.
🔑 Key Takeaways:
- The top five scams on Line are prize, romance, phishing, reimbursement, and gift card scams
- To avoid falling victim to scammers, don’t click on malicious links.
- Report the scam to the FTC and the LINE app company if you suspect a user is trying to lure you into a scam.
Top 5 LINE App Scams
Scammers have a lot of ways to steal your money or sensitive information, like passwords, email addresses, phone numbers, and even banking details.
Here are the top five scams on the LINE app:
1. Phishing Scam
In 2022, authorities received 500 million reports of phishing incidents. With a phishing scam, the scammer will send you a link through LINE app along with excuses why you should click it.
Once you click it, a malicious website will pop up. It will either ask for private information, install spyware on your device, or both.
Your private details will be left vulnerable if you click the link and enter your details.
2. Prize Scam
This scam is also known as the “You Won!” scam. The scammer will send you a link saying you won a lottery prize and need to claim it.
Upon clicking the link, it will ask you to enter your details. This scam can lead to identity theft and other forms of fraud.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there are three telltale signs of a prize scam:
- You have to send money to get your prize.
- The scammer claims that paying will increase your chances of winning.
- You’re required to give your financial information to get the prize.
These tactics will allow the scammers to get away with your money and details without actually giving you a prize.
3. Romance Scam
As its name suggests, scammers use romantic tricks to fool victims. With the already dismal dating scene, many people quickly jump right on board with any random stranger willing to talk.
Unfortunately, many scammers use the app to lure victims into giving them money through fake profiles. These scammers will take time getting their victims to trust them, only to drain them financially when the opportunity comes.
Once they gain your trust, they will ask for money for different reasons like an emergency, a relative in the hospital, and many others.
The red flags of a romance scammer include:
- Not being able to meet you face-to-face or give you a video call.
- Bringing conversations back to money matters, no matter the topic.
- Asking you for money and telling you how to send it.
Here are some basic lies romance scammers tell their unsuspecting victims:
If you don’t give or stop giving the scammer money, they will stop talking to you or even block you. What this person is after is not a romantic connection but your money.
4. Reimbursement Scam
A reimbursement scam starts when scammers tell you how to help you earn money. The scammer may offer an easy job on the promise of lucrative results.
This person will then tell you you’ll have to send money to get a full payment in return.
Scammers would often ask for your details along with the money. After you send the amount, the scammer will block you and not pay you back as promised.
5. Gift Card Scam
This scam happens when a scammer is pretending to be your workmate, friend, or family who uses the LINE app. The scammer will trick you into sending a gift card.
Once received, the scammer will run away with the gift card code and block you off the app.
Scammers will have a lot of ways to fool you to keep you hooked. Awareness of preventing this may help you preserve your cash and protect your data.
| 👍 Helpful Articles: Everyone online should prioritize privacy, especially in messaging apps. Dive into our beginner-friendly guides to safeguard your online accounts: |
How to Avoid LINE App Scams
Knowing how to avoid theseLINE app scams will save you from unwanted money loss, identity theft, or spyware. A few tips to prevent this from happening to you include:
- Not clicking malicious links.
- Not sending money or personal information to anyone in the LINE app.
- Using two-factor authentication.
- Keep your login credentials to yourself.
- Creating strong passwords.
- Set “Reject Message’ on your LINE app to filter contacts.
- Block and report contacts that send malicious links or spam messages.
If you fall victim to these scams, you can do the following:
- Keep records of your conversation with the scammer. Take screenshots of the person’s profile photo, number, or other identifiable information. Always make sure to have a copy of all messages sent to you by the scammer.
- Contact the Federal Trade Commission and file a report.
- Report the incident to the LINE app’s customer service center by clicking “Other settings” and “Report.”
| 👍 Helpful Articles: If you lost money from a LINE scam. Don’t lose hope. There may still be ways for you to track them down. Check out these articles to know more: |
When talking to a stranger on the LINE app, it may help you to verify this person’s identity first. You can look up their details online via background check sites.
Websites offering reverse search lookups, like Social Catfish, may help you track down your scammer and report them to the proper authorities.
Social Catfish
While many other sites can let you achieve the same results, Social Catfish has a unique feature. They can scour billions of web pages and publicly available data, even when the only detail you have is your scammer’s (probably fake) profile photo.
As seen on Social Catfish’s website, it directs you to its default search, “Name.” From there, you can do the steps below to search for someone and verify their details.
| Step 1: Enter the name of the person you’re chatting with. Step 2: Select a country where this person claims they are from. Step 3: Click the “Search” button. Step 4: Select an age range, or you can skip this. |
After this, the website will begin searching through 200 billion records within its database. The website will show you results such as:
- possible people of your interest
- location
- gender
- phone number
If you want more of the results, you may click “See Complete Results.” The website will run more tests for in-depth data like dating profiles, dating accounts, and archived photos.
You must sign up and enter your subscription details to access the results. This handy website charges a minimal fee of $5.99 for five days of unlimited searches.
| 📝 Note: In 2021 alone, identity theft affected 42 million US adults. Many scammers steal others’ identities when planning their scams and probably have a handful more assumed identities when scamming. Even if you have not experienced fraud or scamming, protect your digital footprint regardless. |
Bottom Line
The LINE app is fantastic for communicating with friends, family, and innocent strangers worldwide. Unfortunately, just like any other app, there are scams you should know to protect yourself from online tricksters.
There are ways to avoid scams, like not sharing private information with anyone in a chat app. When you think fraud is happening, you may report it to the FTC and the company.
FAQs
Is Line a safe chat app?
LINE app has developed a security feature called Letter Sealing. This feature is an application of end-to-end encryption technology. Letter Sealing allows chat participants to be the only ones with access to their conversation.
Is the LINE app legit?
In general, it is a safe app. It has a feature that ensures the content of calls and messages can only be viewed by those participating. With Letter Sealing, their end-to-end encryption technology, LINE keeps you safer.
Why would someone use LINE app?
People use LINE for free messaging and video calling. Unlike other messaging apps, it can be used on laptops and mobile devices.
Timeline Of The Article
By Harsha Kiran
Harsha Kiran is the founder and innovator of Techjury.net. He started it as a personal passion project in 2019 to share expertise in internet marketing and experiences with gadgets and it soon turned into a full-scale tech blog with specialization in security, privacy, web dev, and cloud computing.