While 'master manipulators' are trawling social media to trick many young people into making bad decisions, Australia's peak consumer agency has some advice for those who have fallen victim.
The tactics scammers use to get their victims into a "hot state" are helping them reap big dividends as teenagers report being targeted through social media .
It came after the Australian Competition and Commission said Australians made more than 601,000 scam reports in 2023, which was an increase of 18.5 per cent on the previous year.But with that figure only relating to reported cases, the actual losses could be higher. They have also used artificial intelligence to impersonate real people to promote products or easy ways to make money.Saanvi, 18, said her friend's Instagram account was hacked and her password changed so she couldn't access it.The federal government's looming social media ban is likely to be detrimental to some teens, particularly for young people in isolated and marginalised groups, experts and teenagers say.
They have also tried gaining trust through sympathy by asking for support while a loved one was in hospital, or used fake prizes to excite victims into falling for their trap."The other thing that they'll do is if they start to feel like their victim might be realising it's a scam, that's when they'll try and isolate and use embarrassment to prevent that person from reporting," she said.
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