Snapchat Scams: 5 Ways Scammers are Trying to Steal Your Money

Snapchat is a popular messaging app that was created in 2011 and quickly rose to popularity in 2014. This app allows for friends and family members to share pictures and messages that can be deleted in a matter of seconds and allows for people to share their stories with their Snapchat buddies. It also allows for a notification to be sent if chats or photos of yours have been screenshot. It is definitely an app that a lot of people in their teenage years and early twenties love. However, there is a dark side to this app that allow for Snapchat scams.

It is plagued with scammers who go to lengths to make sure they steal your hard-worked money. They get creative with how they convince you to give them their money, whether it’s promising to give you more money back or threatening you until you give them what they desire. It is always important to know when you are being scammed and how to prevent being scammed when using this beloved app to talk to friends or edit your photos with the dog filter.

What Snapchat Scams Are Out There?

They ask you if you want to be a part of an opportunity to gain money. This could be a fake advertising gig, a sponsorship, or someone saying that you can turn your hundreds of dollars into thousands of dollars. These scammers will usually hack into your friends’ accounts and pretend to be them, knowing that you trust your friends. The scammers will then talk as your trusting friend trying to sell you this opportunity, and they know you will most likely go through with it since you think it’s your friend. Then once you give them money or a gift card, they will then ask for your log in information to get on to your account to “promote this advertising opportunity to your other friends.” They will then lock your account, take your money, and never talk to you again.
They pretend to be your friend who needs help in recovering their account. Scammers will add you to Snapchat, claiming to be your friend and saying that they are locked out of their Snapchat account. They will then tell you that the only way you can help them recover their account is by giving them your login so that they can “remember” their Snapchat username. Once they have access to your account, they then will lock you out of it and ask for either cash or sexual acts to allow you to log back into your Snapchat account. Once you give them cash, they only allow you back on your account for a few seconds before locking you out again and demanding more. This scam is more-so geared toward teenage girls.
They send you “fishy” emails. Scammers will send you emails and give you different reasons as to why you need to log into your account. They will also send you a link attached to that email to “make logging into your email easier.” When you click on that link, it looks just like the usual Snapchat login screen. However, its actually a fake login screen where if you enter your information, the scammers can then record your username and password and login to your account.
They send you chain messages. These scammers will pretend to be the official Snapchat team and send you messages stating that your photos will be deleted or inappropriate pictures will be leaked to the public if you don’t share their message. Then, this message gets screenshotted and sent out because everyone gets scared that their pictures will be deleted or made public. Snapchat has even come out and said that they never sent out anything like that and to ignore the chain message if you got one.
They claim to be Premium Snapchat accounts that want you to pay for their “services”. These girls tell you that if you pay them, they will film themselves and take pictures of them doing inappropriate acts on Snapchat. You then pay them a significant amount and they only show you bits and pieces and demand you for more money to see more.

How to Prevent Scams on Snapchat

Make sure you get the Snapchat app from the official app store. If there is an ad on a website that tells you to click it to join Snapchat or an email that encourages you to download the app, it is most likely a scammer trying to steal your information. Make sure you get the app from your reliable Google Play or Apple App Store so that scammers don’t know your login information.
Don’t open or click on links in any emails that say something is wrong with your account. This is most likely a link that will ask for your personal information so that they can log into your Snapchat and scam all of your friends. They will also not give you back your account until you pay them what you want, and even then will still demand more.
Don’t open anything that claims you’re a winner on Snapchat. You’re a winner in your loved one’s eyes, but if you believe a scammer when they say you’re a winner then you’ll be “losing” a bunch of your money. If you get a message saying you’re a winner and you didn’t enter anything, ignore the message because it’s most likely a scammer trying to steal your information and money.
If you open a link in Snapchat and it warns you about that site, do not proceed to open said site. This warning was put in place by Snapchat to warn you that it is probably a website that wants to steal your information. If you ignore the warnings and give that site your information, they most likely want to steal it for their own personal gain. Do not surf on sites with warnings, this usually means they are trying to get you involved in Snapchat scams.
Do not add any unfamiliar Snapchat names to your friends’ list even if they claim to be a friend you know. Scammers have formed a tactic where they pretend to be someone you know and ask for your account login so that they can get back on their old account. Do not listen to them and report that account immediately while texting that friend outside of Snapchat to make sure they didn’t make this account.
If your friend starts trying to sell you something, ignore them. Call that friend outside of Snapchat to make sure that’s not your friend trying to sell you something and notify them that they have been hacked. Scammers hack into your friends’ accounts so that they can gain your trust for that friend and steal your money. If you ever see that this is happening, notify Snapchat that your friend’s account has been hacked so that they can lock it and help your friend get their account back. This also applies to Snapchat buddies that don’t usually message you, but then they message you to try and sell you something. Report their accounts if they seem fishy so that Snapchat can take a look at it.
Don’t trust any chain message that says to send it or your images will be leaked. That is not Snapchat making those messages and your pictures will remain private if you don’t forward that chain message.
Do not send anyone money or pay for any services. If someone asks you for money for particular services or those “advertising opportunities”, say no while blocking and reporting that account. They only want your money and you will not be getting any of what is being offered on Snapchat.
Trust your gut. If you suspect that you were involved in Snapchat scams, report it immediately to Snapchat and they will look into it for you. If you want to make sure their username is legit and that person is who they say they are, make sure you reverse search it to verify that person’s identity.