If you’ve been using Facebook for longer than it takes paint to dry you probably see a bunch of spams, scams and hoaxes hit your Newsfeed on a regular basis.
Some of the malicious posts making the rounds are cleverly written and well-presented, making it difficult for the average person to recognize them as being fraudulent.
However, the vast majority of fraudulent posts can be identified as such with just a quick glance once you know what to look for.
I’ve been studying scams and hoaxes on social media for years now and I’ve learned that there are a number of commonly used phrases that clearly indicate that a post is a hoax. Here are just a few that are making the rounds right now:
- “Just in case.”
- “Omg it worked !!!”
- “Yessssss it works!!”
- “This upgrades the system.”
- “Hello new and old friends.”
- “Hold your finger anywhere in this post and click ‘Copy’.”
- “Tap your finger anywhere in the blank field.”
- “An attorney advised us to post this.”
- “NOTE: Facebook Meta is now a public entity.”
- “I hereby state that I do not give Facebook my permission…”
- “I don’t know if this is true or not; but, I am erring on the side of caution.”
- “…we just saw on Channel 13 News…”
- “Channel 13 News is reporting that Facebook…”
- “Don’t forget tomorrow starts the new Facebook rule…”
Those are the most common phrases the hoaxsters are using right now, but there are many more that make the rounds at various times. If you’ll pay close attention to the posts that land in your Newsfeed you’ll soon learn to recognize them all.
Bottom line: If you see a Facebook post that contains any phrase from the above list, you won’t have to wonder whether it’s real or not. It’s a hoax – guaranteed.
If you have a friend that keeps sharing these types of hoaxes, feel free to share this post with them.
The vast majority of folks who share hoaxes on social media don’t even realize they are hoaxes. Hopefully, this post will help them learn to recognize the ones that will inevitably come their way in the future.