Advertising Scam: Everything you need to know
We all have to accept that today businesses are at peak only because of advertisements. The revenue marketers earn is only via advertisement they display on various channels such as social media, websites, magazines, etc. And there is no doubt that fake advertisements and scammers have grown in the digital market. Now marketers cheat people and do advertisement scams to increase their sales leads. I would say this is a deliberate activity through which advertisers make their ad campaign successful.
Let’s know more about advertisement scam in detail below.
First let’s understand what advertisement scam is.
As the term suggests advertisement ‘scam’ it is a fake advertisement on various social media channels, websites and on the web world. The scammers target social media users and online consumers who search for specific products. It is a deliberate attempt to show products and services which you did not order. Sometimes you might like that product and want to purchase and this is how advertisement scam gets successful. Keep reading to know more about it.
How does the advertisement scam work?
After knowing about advertisement scam, you should also know how the advertisement scam works. You all know that social media and other platforms on the internet contain advertisements for different products and services. However, some of them are authentic, ethical, and legitimate, but some, of course, are ad frauds to gain revenue from people. They release some links which can steal your money once you click on them and never provide any product. This is the one way how advertisement scam works. How you prevent yourself from getting into a vicious circle. Here is the tip for you.
- Guys, it is very difficult to tell the difference between which is a legitimate ad or which ad is a scam. Unless and until you have proper information about it, just ignore the ad.
- If you recognize the ad’s platform such as Amazon, Flipkart, Walmart, or any other then only click otherwise don’t.
Let’s know how ad scammers advertise their products via phone
In the above section, I have told you about digital advertisement scam, now read how scams trick you over the phone.
First of all, a scammer will call you or send you an invoice regarding an advertisement or listing in a publication. The invoice may be about:
- An advertisement that you did not order.
- A contract for services, disguised as an invoice.
- Using the details of an advert you previously ordered
- A publication that doesn’t exist or has limited distribution
There might be some more points to add but you should be aware of these kinds of scams so that you don’t get tricked by scammers. This type of scam is also known as ‘false billing scam.’
Some important tips to avoid advertisement scam
- Whenever you get any call from advertisement or product or service, politely ask the caller where he got your number and details from.
- Never pressurize yourself into making a quick decision on a ‘phone call.’ Always ask them their company name and then take a look into their website and examine how authentic it is.
- Have a clear mind about what offer you are being offered. The scammer might manipulate you for buying the product which you didn’t place an order for.
- While surfing social media platforms or visiting any website, don’t click on random links unless you are familiar with that link. Some ad scammers deliberately post spammy and illegitimate links on sites.
- Sometimes you get a call from charity sponsorship; in this case, you first need to verify the amount of charity they are asking for. And then verify the charity directly whether the publishing company has any link to them or not.
Summing up
The advertisement has become one of the biggest manipulating platforms where people can easily get tricked by spammers and ad frauds. Always check whether the advertisement is genuine or fraud. In this article, I have discussed everything about advertisement scam, how it works, and important tips on how to save one from getting tricked. Consider this article as an informative guide and save yourself from ad fraud and scam.
I hope you liked this article, for more informative articles subscribe our website. Till then keep reading and keep sharing.
