Facebook scammers use Michigan nostalgia to spread spam
a post from a con artist who frequently spreads the quilt hoax. (Image: Facebook)
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Scammers are using pages dedicated to Michigan to share spam posts.
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These scammers will share a post that shows a photo of somewhere in the state or a historical image to get shares before editing the post to include a scam link.
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Scammers have also used a similar tactic with photos of missing children and pets.
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Scammers are using pages dedicated to Michigan to share spam posts.
-
These scammers will share a post that shows a photo of somewhere in the state or a historical image to get shares before editing the post to include a scam link.
-
Scammers have also used a similar tactic with photos of missing children and pets.
DETROIT (FOX 2):Scammers are now utilizing something Michiganders love—their state—after spending years on Facebook.
In an attempt to encourage interaction and sharing, spammers are starting groups devoted to Michigan and flooding them with sentimental posts. Some of these posts, nevertheless, are later changed to add connections to scams.
Because you worry about missing children, you unwittingly share spam with all of your Facebook friends, allowing scammers to take advantage of your emotions.
This trick is not new. That would later be modified, which scammers have leveraged.
What you should know about the most recent scam technique is as follows:
I grew up in Michigan group draws likes, shares
An example of a spam-posting group is “I grew up in Michigan.” The Facebook group’s transparency section reveals that it was established earlier this year and that its moderators are either not from the United States or have few friends.
The moderators frequently provide stuff with a Michigan theme, including pictures from Tiger Stadium’s final Detroit Lions game, information about now-closed businesses, and images of popular regions in the state, such the Upper Peninsula.
Additionally, some posts—like one that laments a new crossroads layout on Telegraph and Eight Mile—are copied from other Facebook users.
These posts appear to be innocuous at first glance. They won’t remain that way, though, thanks to Facebook’s edit feature.
Edited posts spread scams
The con artists will alter a post after it has been posted to depict a fraud attempting to sell a quilt:
“I am the first person to order this quilt from my autistic son, who learnt how to make quilts in Michigan and opened an internet store. He is asking for your opinion on his design, so please help him. Place your order right here.
(Image: Facebook)
The messages contain a spam link and an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image of a patchwork. Links posted by scammers have been known to steal personal information, including credit card numbers, and account credentials.
Even though there are many quilt entries in the “I grew up in Michigan” group, not all of them are altered, which probably keeps the scam from being too blatant. Furthermore, some posts in the group are posted without malicious intent because the moderators aren’t the only ones posting. But a lot of them are.
Steenstra’s Royal Dutch Bakery has been mentioned in numerous comments on a recent quilt article. According to the edit history, the post was originally about the adored bakery before being altered. A new Facebook account with few friends and no visible material made the post.
What to look for
These Michigan posts are more difficult to identify as scams than the missing persons and pet posts.
Being cautious about what you share is the best defense against these scams. If you are sharing content from a public group, you can view all of the poster’s posts from that group by clicking on their name. This is a quick way to see if other posts include scam links.
Facebook also allows you to see if a post has been edited, and view the previous edits. This feature doesn’t always work on the app, so you may need to use a computer to check.
To do so, click the three dots in the upper right corner of a post and select “view edit history.”
The edit history of one of these scam posts (Photo: Facebook)
Also, take a look at the poster’s page. If they’re running a Michigan group but are from another country, they’re probably posting spam. If a person’s page says it is locked, that’s a big giveaway that the person is not in the U.S.
Occasionally, these scammers may have their location set to somewhere in Michigan, but other aspects of their profile give away that they aren’t legitimate accounts.
Things to look for include how new the person’s page is. Occasionally, the page will have posts with a clock symbol near the date a post was made. This means a post was backdated when it was posted, a tactic often used to make it look like a page is older than it really is.
If you see a post you want to share, copy the text and search for the post on Facebook. If you find multiple people sharing the exact same post into other similar groups, like “Michigan Everything,” that’s another sign that the post will be edited later.
Not every group dedicated to Michigan is a spam group, of course. As scammers continue to change their techniques for misleading people, the best defense is being mindful of what you’re sharing.
Scam posts on Facebook aren’t new, but particular ones are becoming more and more common on the social media site. One seen particularly often is for mobile car detailing.
What to do if you spot one of these posts
If you run into a similar post and believe it may not be legitimate, do not share it and report it to Facebook and the BBB.
If you have already shared the post, delete it from your profile.
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