Spot These 5 Common Snapchat Scams Before It's Too Late

Snapchat is dubbed as one of the most prominent social networking apps right now. Its 300+ million daily active users spend 30 minutes per day on this platform. Hiding among those users are scammers.

Social media has been a gold mine for scammers. In the form of cyber attacks, friend impersonation, and fake romantic relationships, they will do everything to lure you. 

In this article, discover the most common Snapchat scams, how they are plotted out, and how to outsmart them.

Most Common Snapchat Scams and How They Work

Con artists have creative ways to trick you. They can easily find you, especially if you have a public Snapchat account. Spot these five types of scams on Snapchat:

Private Snapchat Account Scam

Premium Snapchat, a.k.a private snap, is Snapchat's premium subscription. It is a fee-based account sold per subscription or as lifetime access with a one-time payment. 

The premium Snapchat account scam is simple. Scammers randomly message you on Snapchat, offering their premium accounts containing explicit photos and videos stolen from adult entertainment stars or models. 

If you want to see their content, these scammers will charge you a subscription fee, typically through gift cards, Venmo accounts, etc. But once you have paid, they'll block you.

Phishing Scams

Premium Snapchat account scams sometimes lead to Phishing scams. A phishing attack is when scammers trick you into revealing sensitive information to sell on the dark web or access your financial accounts.

Phishing scams on Snapchat will direct you to a spoofed website looking identical to a Snapchat website asking for your Snapchat details. 

They are presented in two ways:

• Link. Scammers will message you a malicious link that you have to click to access their private Snapchat accounts. 
• Email. Scammers will send an email that looks exactly like a legitimate email from Snapchat.

In 2022, scammers took advantage of vulnerable Snapchat and American Express domains. They manipulated the sites into sending phishing emails to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 users. 

More than 6,800 Snapchat phishing emails and 2,000 for American Express were found, as reported by the cyber-security company INKY. 

Someone Pretending to Be Your Friend Scam

If you start receiving weird messages from your friends on Snapchat, double-check with them first to ensure they weren't hacked. 

Scammers display a trustworthy persona and can pretend like they’re your friend. They will hack into your friend's Snapchat account, impersonate them and try to 'borrow' money from you.

They can also propose a fake opportunity to make money using your friend's hacked account. Some scammers also pose as your friend that was locked out of their account and needs technical help. They may ask for your personal information and use them for scamming others.

Romance Scam

Nowadays, fake online relationships can be manipulated. A Snapchat scammer with a fake love interest might give you excessive flattery and praise, bomb you with sweet emojis, and tell all sorts of lies to steal your heart and money. 

Snapchat romance scams usually happen this way:

• Catfishing. The scammer will use fictional names and pretend to be an attractive person seeking love and will ask for money, gifts, etc.
• Meetup scam. The scammer will make plans and promise an in-person date. They will ask for gas money but will come up with an excuse and cancel.
• Dating app. The scammer establishes a relationship from a third-party dating app as quickly as possible and asks for your Snapchat to get you to send your private clips.

In 2022, romance scams victimized 70,000 Americans, according to the reports of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network. Counted scam losses amounted to a staggering $1.3 billion.

A woman with the pen name Amanda developed a relationship with a person she didn't know was a scammer on Snapchat. The scammer made her comfortable enough to send private photos. 

Not long enough, it led to sexual extortion or 'sextortion'—he threatened to leak her private pictures if she didn't pay him money. 

Amanda had access to her father's bank account and details. Being scared and under pressure, she sent the scammer her father's money. The amount she sent the scammer quickly swelled to £85,000 or over 105,500 USD. 

The scammer had instructed her what to do step-by-step, which she followed out of fear. Amanda pursued a refund from her bank, but they couldn't give it because she "willingly authorized" the payments.

Sugar Mommy/Daddy/Baby Scam

A sugar baby is a person who seeks financial support from their chosen provider, a.k.a; the sugar mommy/daddy. All in exchange for companionship, fun, sexual favors, pragmatic love, etc. 

A fake sugar daddy/mommy will project that they are rich and make you believe you will receive a lot of money but will turn the tables, leaving you in greater financial hardship.

In early 2022, a 17-year-old boy reportedly fell victim to a sugar baby scam on Snapchat. The teenager was offered to be a sugar baby through online companionship by a woman who went by the name of Errina Angels.

The scammer instructed him to deposit two checks into his Wells Fargo account. Her mockup 'accountant' sent the checks to the boy via email. 

He was told he could keep the $500 but donate the rest via the money-transferring app Zelle. As gullible as he already is, the teen agreed to the plan, but his deposited checks had bounced when he sent the money. 

It was never mentioned whether the boy got his money back, but it ended with his mother seeking answers why Wells Fargo didn’t notify her of the unusual activity. 

Stay Safe on Snapchat through Social Catfish

Fraudsters take advantage of the widespread popularity of Snapchat on users who they think are unsuspecting. Don't fall victim to Snapchat scams through resources like our tried and tested website Social Catfish.

Social Catfish has incredible deep reverse search technology uncovering scammer after scammer. You only have to enter the information on their website, and they can track precisely where the scam attacks originate and who gets paid. 

You can look up people you meet online too, and Social Catfish will help verify their identities if you have doubts that it's them. 

Choose from Social Catfish's two types of reverse search memberships: First, the reverse search for images, and second, the reverse social search, which enables you to search using a name, email address, phone number, and social media username/address.

Key Takeaways

• Scammers will solicit money from you if you want their stolen explicit content but will block you once you have paid.
• Scammers will deceive you into sending your info, usually through email or an infected link.
• Scammers will try to pretend to be someone you know and steal your money.
• Romance and sugar relationship scams are when scammers paint a trustworthy persona and run off with your money.
• Social Catfish's reverse lookup search engine can help you do background checks and bust a scammer.

The Bottomline

It’s not easy to trust anyone these days. Although there are many ways to dodge these crafty Snapchat scams, scammers are becoming more innovative. Always keep in mind to verify the identity of who you are talking to online.

Knowing how to protect yourself from these types of scam can help you save your time and financial resources.