When It Counts

In business, social media has become a necessary form of marketing and advertising. But a recent influx of fraud reports to the Federal Trade Commission indicate that it’s also a prime target for scammers.

-And we’re not talking about some run-of-the-mill pickpocketing. “They literally mirrored my accounts, siphoning money from my checking and PayPal accounts without me even knowing,” says Dr. Donita McCants, owner of Veterinary Concierge Services. “At first, it was a few hundred dollars. I saw a charge for Facebook Advertising and thought, ‘yes, sure, that makes sense.’ But really, it wasn’t.”

It wasn’t until she brought her books to Go Figure for help that it finally started to make sense. “I just felt like my numbers were draining, and I didn’t know what was going on. It took Rachel literally 24 hours to sort it out.” All told, Dr. Donita lost nearly $20,000 in fraudulent social media scam charges!

“It’s terrible to lose that money, but I’m grateful for Rachel and Go Figure. They have been so instrumental in repairing the damage and helping me stay afloat during that time.”

Dr. Donita says, “The scammers were deep into my accounts so when I turned off and disabled my linked accounts, they had already accessed my bank accounts. At one point, they changed all my passwords, and when I fixed it, they did it again!”

Still, Dr. Donita just wants others to learn from her mistake. “Don’t rely on automated systems to tell you what, where, and how you’re spending. Write down what you spend or authorize on social media advertising, and only use one tool to place your ads. Also, set your fraud alerts to the highest level. It’s a pain to triple-authenticate every time you purchase something, but it’s worth every penny. And last, but not least, have a great accountant in your corner, just in case.”