Earlier this week, an online fraud involving Bank BCA customers went viral on Twitter.
Not kidding, the victim lost Rp 118 million in less than 30 minutes.
Based on the Scrairos team's search, the perpetrators used Instagram Ads to lure victims.
The use of Instagram Ads as an online fraud tool is not new, but it is still effective because it is assisted by the algorithm from the social media.
So, how do scam ads on Instagram? Come on, read more so that we can avoid this fraud mode.
Work Scam Ads
Online fraud ads on Instagram lead victims to click on links from fake bank accounts or institutions.
In the case of a BCA Bank customer who lost Rp 118 million, the victim clicked on the BCA Prioritas service upgrade poster that had been installed by the perpetrator.
After being clicked, the victim was directed to the WhatsApp account of the perpetrator who claimed to be the official account of Bank BCA.
The WhatsApp account uses a number that is not from the territory of Indonesia.
After the victim started the chat, the perpetrator responded with a formal language to appear as an employee of the company concerned.
The perpetrator then provides a link and a form to the victim through a special link.
Victims are asked to fill out forms and important data that can be used by perpetrators to carry out account burglary actions.
Perpetrators usually block the victim immediately after successfully launching the action.
This online fraud model can be effective because it leverages Instagram's advertising algorithm.
The perpetrators obviously spend a lot of money to advertise on Instagram.
However, Instagram Ads themselves have high effectiveness because they can implement targeted ads or targeted ads that take advantage of user data.
Performers can select ad audiences based on their age, location, demographics, interests, even by their digital behavior and activity.
To prevent online scams that take advantage of Instagram ads, we must be careful to protect our personal data.
Do not carelessly press ad links on Instagram that are dangerous and have the potential to steal our personal data.
In addition, for iOS users, you can take advantage of the App Tracking Transparency to see what data the application retrieves.
For Android users, you can use the Google Privacy feature which is able to minimize tracking of user data by third-party applications.
The use of App Tracking Transparency and Google Privacy can limit the effectiveness targeted ads that are often used by perpetrators to ensnare victims.