Assignment 7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Social Media Scams:

Opportunity: There are many scams going on nowadays on social media in USA. A lot of people that are online shoppers or who trust people that they meet on social media very quick are being victimized by scammers, because those scammers are unemployed, don’t have any other earnings and only focused on making easy money which is unlawful.

-       The who: online shoppers in USA or anyone with social media account.

-       The what: They are being scammed by unknown people with fake profile. Some of the are robbed after meeting with the scammers.

-       The why: Because those scammers probably don’t have jobs, and they are trying to make money one way or another.

-       Testing the who: I believe that victims of online scammers are all around the world. It doesn’t online concern USA, but it can be possible in every country. An example of country that is known for that is Nigeria. Most of the who will concern people who put their trust in social media and believe whatever people tell them based on their online personality.

-       Testing the what: This is a practice in which one person will create a fake profile or personality online, and then try to take advantage of the victims and disappear. Also, it might be about those scammers selling a product that never existed and then getting the victims credit cards information, or they can try to meet the victims in persons just to rob them. There are several types of scammers that are still out there to make money.

-       Testing the why: I believe that if you have a job, you are less likely to try to scam someone else online because of the risks, and you don’t need money like that. So, I can say that most people that are scammers are unemployed and are lazy to work for their money. I can also say that some of the victims are also helping that practice to become worse because they put their trust in people, they meet on social media very fast. Most people don’t show their real personality on social media.

-       Interview 1: I had an interesting conversation with an engineering student (25 years). He thinks that the problem concern everybody because even if you are not a victim, your family member or someone you know might be. He thinks that most scammers know their victims, and that they know how they get them to do what they want. He thinks that the victims should be careful more as he has no hope for a way to stop those scammers.

-       Interview 2: Juliet, 23 years old with a master’s degree in social work was also very interesting. She mentioned that she knows few people that were scammed in the past and still trust social media. She said that both were female, and that they were scammed on Facebook. She thinks that it is possible to reduce the issue by creating some limited access and by getting more personal information from users of Facebook app.

-       Interview 3: I learned a lot from this interview as Karim, from Africa, gave me some great information. For him, this issue concern not only USA, but also countries like Africa. He told me that if I ever find a way to stop those scammers in USA, I should also help people in Africa. He thinks that money is all behind this issue, and that people also shows their wealth on social, and so they are the main targets. He said that he knows many young men in Africa that are getting hundreds of thousands of dollars every year through their online scams. He thinks that there might be a hope to stop that if they make it difficult such as wire transfer or money transfer through Western union or MoneyGram.

-       Interview 4: This guy is my classmate and is 22 years old. He told me that he is a victim of an online scam, and that he was robbed when he met the person. He said that he could have done better if he did not trust the scammer easily. He thinks that most victims are those who share every single information about their life on social media. He was scammed through Facebook.

-       Interview 5: This last person was a worker at gator Dining. He shared with me that people who are being scammed are the ones who should be blamed. He doesn’t believe that you can trust people that you meet online enough to let them use and scam you. He thinks that asking some personal information that can confirm that it is the real person behind that online user profile, will be great.

Summary: I think that these interviews gave me the opportunity to expand my thoughts on that opportunity. First, they helped me remember that the issue is not only in USA, but everywhere around the world. Thus, I know now that the solution to this problem should be universal and should also prevent international scammers to victimized Americans. Second, they made me realized that I shouldn’t only focus on the scammers, but also on the victims that are very quick to trust strangers they meet online. To Finish, these interviews gave me some new ideas on how to fight against those scammers.