You probably know someone who has lost money in a social media scam

Social media helps you stay connected with family and friends — and hordes of scam artists connect with you.

About a quarter of all financial losses from fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2021 — or roughly $770 million — stemmed from online scams originating on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and others. That's an 18-fold increase in the number losses related to social media fraud since 2017, according to the agency.

Over 95,000 victims — more than twice the number in 2020 — said they lost money after falling prey to a deceptive ad, post or message they received on a messaging, photo-sharing or similar app.