Scammers employ various methods to deceive individuals into parting with their money or confidential information. They may send emails promising lucrative investment opportunities, send urgent text messages claiming to be friends in need, or even impersonate YZZY staff to send phishing emails about account issues.
Phishing Attempts
Be cautious of bogus accounts, impersonators, or hijacked social media profiles used to swindle you or your contacts. If you receive an email or a message that seems to be from us, resist clicking any links or opening attachments. YZZY never sends direct messages regarding your account in the app.
To protect yourself from scams, follow these guidelines:
- Take your time: Scammers often create urgency or issue threats to elicit quick action. Pause and think critically before responding.
- Verify information: Scammers may mention issues to induce action. Before clicking links or downloading files, investigate to verify their claims.
- Refrain from sending money: Scammers may impersonate well-known organizations, even using stolen employee photos to appear credible. No genuine organization demands immediate payment.
Red Flags
When deciding whether to respond to a message on YZZY, be wary of these red flags:
- Strangers or celebrities requesting money.
- Advance fees for loans, prizes, or winnings.
- Claims of being a friend or relative in urgent need.
- Suggestions to move the conversation off YZZY.
- Rapid romantic advances followed by financial requests.
- Messages with spelling and grammar mistakes.
- Urgent requests related to your online account.
- Prompts to log in to your social media, email, or bank account to read an important message.
- Accounts impersonating major companies, organizations, or public figures.
- Persons claiming to be YZZY employees asking for your account details or verification services.
- Accounts without followers, a profile photo, or authentic activity on [activity].
Scam examples
- Investment Scams: Offers of transforming a small investment into a substantial sum, often vanishing after receiving payment. Beware of "cash flipping" scams, Ponzi schemes, and "get rich quick" schemes.
- Romance Scams: Unsolicited romantic messages from individuals claiming to be divorced, widowed, or unhappily married, seeking a relationship. They might request money or personal details for travel or visa purposes, usually after building trust over weeks or months.
- Job Scams: Misleading or fake job advertisements aiming to steal personal information or money. Steer clear of too-good-to-be-true job offers or those requiring upfront payment.
- Lottery Scams: Claims of winning a lottery from accounts impersonating known contacts or legitimate organizations, often requiring a small advance fee to claim the prize.
- Loan Scams: Advertisements for instant, low-interest loans requiring an upfront fee. Scammers may request additional payments for a larger loan or disappear after the initial payment.
- Donation Scams: Requests for donations from accounts pretending to represent charities, orphanages, or religious figures.
- Inheritance Scams: Claims of being entitled to an inheritance from a state representative or lawyer, asking for personal information to receive the inheritance.
- Commerce Scams: Offers of products or services at implausibly low prices, urging quick action and payment through cryptocurrency. The items are never delivered, and the seller becomes unresponsive.