Protecting Your Law Firm from Social Media Spam

Spam is any type of unsolicited message sent in bulk over the internet. Spam messages may be received via text, email, in a website comments section, or as a direct message (DM) to your social media account.

In most cases, spamming is used to attract website traffic, but it can also be used for malicious purposes such as scams, phishing, and spreading viruses or other types of malware.

When you’re on social media, never click on a link or download something unless you’re sure you know where it’s from. Links that seem to be coming from a legitimate source could actually be spam.

How To Recognize Spam Messages on Social Media

Spamming isn’t just annoying; it can also be dangerous. When you respond to spam, you may be attracting viruses and malware that can damage your device or reveal sensitive information to bad actors. Spammers may try to collect your personal information and use it for identity theft or other malicious purposes.

Spammers use all types of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and LinkedIn, and they can be pretty sneaky about disguising who they really are. Spammers frequently use DMs to lure social media users to click on dangerous links or download harmful software.

Never give your personal information out to someone who contacts you via social media, even if it’s someone who seems familiar. Facebook and other social media companies will always contact you by email when they request information, so if you get a message on social media asking for your personal or account information, double-check to make sure it’s legitimate.

When you receive a questionable message, the first thing you should do is check the sender’s profile. A legitimate profile will have a profile picture, some friends or followers, a history of posts or photos, and interactions on their timeline. A lack of profile content is a big tipoff that you’re dealing with a fake account. You’ll also want to be wary of mass messaging.

Some other things to watch out for include:

• Requests marked as “Urgent”
• Requests for personal or financial information
• Generic language
• Poor grammar and spelling
• Unsolicited links
• Lack of personalization
• Repetitive content
• Links to unfamiliar or untrustworthy websites
• Messages sent to multiple accounts at once
• Receiving the same message from different users

There are a number of words and phrases that scammers like to use, such as:

• Free
• Win
• Cash
• Money
• Congratulations
• Guarantee
• Discount
• Urgent
• Limited time
• Act now
• Click here

Keeping Your Personal Information Private

Website servers and social media platforms are engaged in a constant battle to identify and eliminate spam. Unfortunately, scammers are constantly developing new schemes to bypass these security measures.

SLS Consulting, Inc. is a full-service digital marketing firm. We offer effective strategies to help protect your website from malicious actors. We can also make sure that you have a beautiful website designed to convert visitors into leads.

Our websites have a conversion rate of five to seven percent. That’s much higher than the industry average of only two to three percent. To learn more, call (323) 254-1510 and schedule a FREE consultation today.