Snapchat Phishing Scams Explained
Have you been phished on Snapchat, or do you know someone who has been the victim of a Snapchat phishing scam?
Read on to find out about this problem and what you can do to prevent it, or how to respond if it’s happened to you.
Snapchat has 800 million monthly active users worldwide, including 414 million daily active users making it a huge pool of people for scammers to go phishing in.
Why People Like Snapchat
Using Snapchat can be a great way to keep up with friends and acquaintances.
Getting your Snapscore up and keeping your streaks with friends going can be a fun way to mark time and connect.
A lot of Snapchat users also enjoy keeping up with what their contacts are up to by checking their Snap Maps. Many a Snapchat user has been heard saying, “I didn’t realise Bella was in Thailand!” or “some kids from school are in town, maybe I’ll join them”.
The fact that Snaps vanish after 24 hours on Snapchat is one of its key features. It’s a big drawcard for a lot of people, who want to stay in the loop with their friends but don’t want their pictures immortalised in a feed.
Some people also like using Snapchat to share intimate pictures, because they believe the images just vanish, lessening the danger of images being shared without consent.
The Dangers Of Snapchat
One of the key concerns with Snapchat is that just because the pictures or videos vanish, it doesn’t mean they can’t be captured, stored and republished.
At Cybertrace, out of our commitment to safety and wellbeing online we advise people to take precautions and understand that any image you send to someone can remain on the internet for life.
Unfortunately too, any image or video that you take that is stored in an app, including the cloud, can also be used against you at a later stage. Just like your house can be robbed, so can virtual archives.
Victims of Snapchat Phishing understand this all too well.
Let’s use the example of Josh (names have been changed to protect the privacy of real individuals). At some point, Josh was tricked into giving a scammer access to his Snapchat account. The scammer then changed Josh’s password, locking him out of his own account.
Deciding to try and take charge of the situation, Josh made a new Snapchat account and messaged his old one to ask for access back. This is when things really took a terrible turn.
The scammer told Josh they had access to all of his saved pictures and videos and if Josh didn’t send him money, they would share this content with all of Josh’s contacts.
Unfortunately, while we have changed the name of the victim of this terrible sextortion scam, this is a scenario that is all too real. In some horrific cases, Snapchat Phishing/Sextortion has led to the suicides of young people around the world.
How Does Snapchat Phishing Happen?
If this has happened to you, it’s vital to take immediate action. We will explore options of what to do in a moment.
But first, if you have the luxury of never having experienced Snapchat Phishing but you’re worried about it, here is what you need to know.
According to Snapchat, social engineering attacks, such as impersonation, is the number one way hackers take over an account on their platform.
In this scam, hackers pretend to be one of your friends who needs help recovering their account. They’ll ask for your account login information, under the pretense that they need to look through your Friends List to “remember” their Snapchat username.
Once you give them access to your username and password, they’ll take over your account.
Another method that Snapchat Phishing scammers use is creating and sending scam emails or text messages that look almost exactly like real emails from Snapchat.
The email or text will try to convince you to click a (fake) link to “log in” to your account. As soon as you have inputted your username and password, these scammers will collect it and use it to take over your account.
These are some of the lies that scammers tell to unsuspecting Snapchat users, to try and convince them to click the fake link:
- Your account has been been hacked or there is a technical problem with it
- Your photos will be deleted or shared with others if you don’t click the link
- You won a competition and need to verify your identity
- You’ll have access to special content or discount codes if you click the link
- You’ll receive something valuable, like concert tickets, Amazon gift cards, etc but you
have to click to get them.
If Snapchat users believe any of these lies and decide to click, they are not logging into Snapchat. Instead, it will be a dummy site that mimics Snapchat. Once you have entered your username and password into this dummy Snapchat site, the scammers will collect them, log into your account and change the password so you can no longer use it.
The scammer then has access to the scam victim’s saved pictures. But that on its own is not as bad as what happens next.
When the victim opens a new Snapchat account and contacts the scammer, asking them for access back to their own account, the scammer demands money from the victim.
If the victim doesn’t pay, the scammer threatens to send all of the victim’s saved Snaps to their contacts.
If these Snaps include sensitive images, this can of course be very stressful for the victim.
As mentioned above, some young people have completed suicide as a result of being hacked and scammed in this way.
Snapchat is well aware that Snapchat Phishing is a serious problem. They have created a page that states. “never share your password or My Eyes Only passcode with anyone – not even us! A Snapchat representative will never ask you for them and we don’t need them to help you.”
It is vital that you remember this.
What To Do If You Have Been A Victim Of Snapchat Phishing
Snapchat includes general guidance about what to do if your account has been compromised.
They also provide a Support Request form that you can use to receive specific support with regard to your issue. You may select any of the following options to receive relevant support:
- I think my account was compromised
- I can’t access my account
- I want to report an account or content
- I lost my Snapstreak
- I found a bug
- I need help with a Snapchat feature
- I want to report intellectual property infringement
- I have a privacy or European Digital Services Act related question
- I want to deactivate or delete my account
- My account has been compromised and I can no longer access it.
In the instance that you have been Phished, we at Cybertrace would advise you to click any of the two options below:
Alternatively, Cybertrace offers a specially crafted Snapchat Phishing investigation which may enable us to collect the scammer’s IP address and locate them, enabling international law enforcement to intervene.
It is a very challenging kind of investigation that requires intensive focus as well as cooperation from our clients.
Our precisely crafted Snapchat Phishing social engineering operations have resulted in locating offenders in other parts of the world.
How To Safeguard Against Snapchat Phishing
Be Wary of Friend Requests
Only accept friend requests from people you know or recognise. It is safest to avoid adding strangers or accounts with suspicious profiles.
Verify Identities
If someone with the same name as your friend or acquaintance requests you, but if it seems suspicious or you’re not completely sure it is them, check with them on another platform before sharing any personal information or engaging further.
Protect Your Login Information
If it’s not obvious from reading this article, we will say it again: never share your Snapchat login credentials with anyone.
Be wary of scammers trying to phish you through emails, texts or other messages that ask for your username, password, or verification codes.
Enable two-factor authentication
A key aspect of safeguarding against being Snapchat phished is activating two-factor authentication on your Snapchat account. This means that anytime you (or anyone else!) attempts to log in to the app, you (and only you) will receive a code via text message or authentication app.
Stay Informed About Common scams
It’s important to keep abreast of the various types of Snapchat scams circulating online. They’re shapeshifting beasts, with multiple tentacles such as fake giveaways, phishing messages, or impersonation attempts. It’s best to keep researching and reading widely into the latest Snapchat scams.
Verify Requests for Money or Personal Information
If anyone requests money or sensitive information from you on Snapchat be very very careful. Make sure you verify the identity of the sender before responding or taking any action.
Report Suspicious Activity
If you encounter any strange or suspicious accounts, messages or activity on Snapchat, report it to Snapchat’s support team immediately. This helps protect other users from scammers and also allows Snapchat to take appropriate action.
Keep Your Snapchat App Updated
It is absolutely vital that you use the latest version of the Snapchat app. Updates often include security patches and fixes for vulnerabilities that could be exploited by scammers.
Adjust privacy settings
Set up in the safest way, your Snapchat privacy settings can go a very long way to protecting you. Make sure you have them set up to control who can contact you, view your stories, and see your location. By placing boundaries around your exposure to strangers you can reduce your susceptibility to being scammed.
Contact Cybertrace Now
Have you been the victim of a Snapchat phishing scam? Or do you know someone else who has? Simply click the button below to contact us and one of our Licensed investigators will get back to you asap.
