SCARS Institute’s Encyclopedia of Scams™ Published Continuously for 25 Years
SCARS™ Special Report: Where Do Scammers Scam Scam Victims?
We Are Asked Every Single Day If Scammers Scam On This Social Media Or That One!
While This list may not be complete these are ALL places where scammers scam on Social Media. In other words, everywhere!
If you belong or have an account on any of these – then you are a target.
We recommend that you close all social media accounts that you do not depend on. Especially if you joined one (such as Google Hangouts) just for the purposes of talking to a scammer!
List Of Scammer Filled Social Media
WHERE SCAMMERS WORK
| Name | Description/focus | Date launched | Registered users |
|---|---|---|---|
| About.me | Social networking site | October 2009 | 5,000,000 |
| Academia.edu | Social networking site for academics/researchers | September 2008 | 18,000,000 |
| aNobii | Books | 2006 | |
| AsianAvenue | A social network for the Asian American community | 1997 | |
| aSmallWorld | European jet set and social elite worldwide | March 2004 | 550,000 |
| Athlinks | Running, swimming | 2001 | 139,458 |
| Audimated.com | Independent music | 2010 | |
| Bebo | General | July 2005 | 117,000,000 |
| Biip.no | Norwegian community | 1 June 2005 | 430,000 |
| BlackPlanet | Black Americans | 1 September 1999 | 20,000,000 |
| Bolt.com | General | 1996 | |
| Busuu | Language learning community (headquartered in Madrid, Spain) | 16 May 2008 | 12,000,000 |
| Buzznet | Music and pop-culture | 2005 | 10,000,000 |
| CafeMom | Mothers | December 2006 | 1,250,000 |
| Care2 | Green living and social activism | 1998 | 9,961,947 |
| CaringBridge | Not for profit providing free websites that connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery. | 1997 | 9,500,000 |
| CarSwap | Car swap and sales matching platform. | 2016 | 100,000 |
| Classmates.com | School, college, work and the military | 1995 | 50,000,000 |
| Cloob | General. Popular in Iran | 2004 | |
| Commonground | Environmental and property due diligence professionals | 2007 | 5,000 |
| CouchSurfing | Worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the communities they visit. | 2003 | 2,967,421 |
| CozyCot | East Asian and Southeast Asian women | 2001 | 150,000 |
| Crunchyroll | Anime and forums. | 2006 | |
| Cucumbertown | Networking for cooks | 2012 | |
| Cyworld | General. Popular in South Korea. | 1999 | 24,000,000 |
| DailyStrength | Medical & emotional support community – physical health, mental health, support groups | 4 November 2007 | |
| delicious | Social bookmarking allowing users to locate and save websites that match their own interests | September 2003 | 8,822,921 |
| DeviantArt | Art community | 7 August 2000 | 26,000,000 |
| Diaspora* | Decentralized, user-owned, open source, nonprofit, privacy aware, general | November 2010 | 669,000+ |
| Disaboom | People with disabilities (amputees, cerebral palsy, MS, and other disabilities) | 2007 | |
| Dol2day | Politic community, social network, Internet radio (German-speaking countries) | 15 May 2000 | 40,200 |
| DontStayIn | Clubbing (primarily UK) | April 2003 | |
| douban | Chinese Web 2.0 website providing user review and recommendation services for movies, books, and music. | 2005 | 46,850,000 |
| Doximity | U.S. Physicians and medical doctors. | 2011 | 400,000 |
| Draugiem.lv | General (primarily LV, LT, HU) | April 24, 2004 | 2,600,466 |
| Dreamwidth | Blogging. | 2009 | |
| DXY.cn | Chinese online community for physicians, health care professionals, pharmacies and facilities | 2000 | 2,000,000 |
| Elftown | Community and wiki around fantasy and sci-fi. | Feb 2002 | 185,000 |
| Elixio | Business executives jet set and global elite. | July 2007 | 80,000 |
| Ello | General | March 2014 | |
| English, baby! | Students and teachers of English as a second language | 2000 | 1,600,000 |
| Eons.com | For baby boomers and mature internet users age 40 and beyond. | Jul 2006 | |
| eToro | Social investing, finance | May 2007 | 2,500,000 |
| Experience Project | Life Experiences | 2007 | |
| General: photos, videos, blogs, apps. | February 2004 | 2,270,000,000 | |
| Fetlife | People who are into BDSM | January 2008 | 2,701,715 |
| FilmAffinity | Movies and TV series | 2002 | 250,000 |
| Filmow | Movies and TV series | 2009 | |
| FledgeWing | Entrepreneurial community targeted towards worldwide university students | Feb 2009 | |
| Flickr | Photo sharing, commenting, photography related networking, worldwide | February 2004 | 32,000,000 |
| Flixster | Movies | 2007 | 63,000,000 |
| Focus.com | Business-to-business, worldwide | 2005 | 850,000 |
| Fotki | Photo sharing, video hosting, photo contests, journals, forums, flexible privacy protection, friend’s feed, audio comments and unlimited custom design integration. | October 1998 | 1,632,565 |
| Fotolog | Photoblogging. Popular in South America and Spain | 2002 | 20,000,000 |
| Foursquare | Location-based mobile social network | 2009 | 20,000,000 |
| Friendica | Distributed, federated, privacy aware, open source, general | July 2010 | |
| Fuelmyblog | Blogging community | July 2007 | 50,000 |
| Fyuse | A spatial photography app and website which lets users capture and share interactive 3D images. | 2014 | |
| Gab.ai | social networking service created as an alternative to social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. | 2016 | 310,000 |
| Gaia Online | Anime and games. Popular in United States, Canada and Europe. Moderately popular around Asia. | 2003 | 23,523,663 |
| GamerDNA | Computer and video games | 21 September 2006 | 310,000 |
| Gapyear.com | Travel social network | July 1998 | |
| Gather.com | Article, picture, and video sharing, as well as group discussions | 25 Feb 2005 | 465,000 |
| Gays.com | Social network for LGBT community, guide for LGBT bars, restaurants, clubs, shopping | 16 May 2008 | 100,000 |
| Geni.com | Families, genealogy | 16 January 2007 | 15,000,000 |
| Gentlemint | Community for sharing and discussing all things manly | 25 November 2011 | |
| GetGlue | Social network for entertainment. | 28 October 2008 | 2,000,000 |
| GirlsAskGuys | A community where people help each other by sharing their experiences & opinions. | June 2007 | 450,000 |
| Gogoyoko | Fair play in music – a social networking site for musicians and music lovers. | 1 Oct 2009 | |
| Goodreads | Library cataloging, book lovers. | December 2006 | 13,000,000 |
| Goodwizz | Social network with matchmaking and personality games to find new contacts. Global, based in France. | October 2010 | 110,000 |
| Google+ | General | 28 June 2011 | 1,600,000,000 |
| GovLoop | For people in and around government. | May 2008 | |
| Grindr | For gay and bisexual men. | March 2009 | 2,400,000 |
| Grono.net | Poland | 2,000,000 | |
| Habbo | General for teens. Over 31 communities worldwide. Chat room and user profiles. | August 2000 | 268,000,000 |
| Hangouts | a social media of Google – being canceled | ||
| hi5 | General. Popular in Nepal, Mongolia, Thailand, Romania, Jamaica, Central Africa, Portugal and Latin America. Not very popular in the United States. | 2003 | 80,000,000 |
| Hospitality Club | Hospitality | 328,629 | |
| Hotlist | Geo-social aggregator rooted in the concept of knowing where users’ friends are, were, and will be. | 80,000 | |
| HR.com | Social networking site for human resources professionals. | 1999 | 194,000 |
| Hub Culture | Global influencers focused on worth creation. | November 2002 | 20,000 |
| Ibibo | Talent-based social networking site that allows users to promote themselves and discover new talent. Most popular in India. | 3,500,000 | |
| Identi.ca | Twitter-like service is popular with hackers and software freedom advocates. | 395,695 | |
| Indaba Music | Online collaboration for musicians, remix contests, and networking. | 350,000 | |
| Influenster | Online product sampling and review platform. | 2010 | 850,000 |
| A photo and video sharing site owned by Facebook. | October 2010 | 300,000,000 | |
| IRC-Galleria | Finland | 505,000 | |
| italki | Language learning social network. 100+ languages. | 500,000 | |
| Itsmy | Mobile community worldwide, blogging, friends, personal TV-shows | 2,500,000 | |
| Jaiku | General. Microblogging. Owned by Google | February 2006 | |
| Jiepang | Location-based mobile social network. In the Chinese language | 2010 | 3,000,000 |
| Kaixin001 | General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users | ||
| Kiwibox | General. | 1999 | 2,400,000 |
| LaiBhaari | Marathi social networking | 2010 | 250,000 |
| Last.fm | Music | 2002 | 30,000,000 |
| Late Night Shots | Message boards, member profile pages, spotting other members | 2006 | 20,000 (2008) |
| LibraryThing | Book lovers | 29 August 2005 | 1,300,000 |
| Lifeknot | Shared interests, hobbies | ||
| Business and professional networking | May 2003 | 200,000,000 | |
| LinkExpats | Social networking website for expatriates. 100+ countries. | ||
| Listography | Lists. Autobiography | ||
| LiveJournal | Blogging. Popular in Russia and among the Russian-speaking diaspora abroad. | 15 April 1999 | 17,564,977 |
| Livemocha | Online language learning | 5,000,000 | |
| Makeoutclub | General | 9 August 1999 | |
| Mastodon | Micro-blogging | 5 October 2016 | |
| MEETin | General | ||
| Meetup (website) | General. Used to plan offline meetings for people interested in various activities | ||
| MillatFacebook | General, created in response to Facebook | May 2010 | 461,200 |
| Minds | Free, open source, decentralized, and based on a foundation of transparency and privacy | June 2015 | 1,000,000 |
| mixi | Japan | 25 October 2000 | 24,323,160 |
| MocoSpace | Mobile community, worldwide | 2005 | 3,000,000 |
| MOG | Music | ||
| MouthShut.com | Social network, social media, consumer reviews | ||
| Mubi | Auteur cinema | 200,000 | |
| MyHeritage | Family-oriented social network service | 30,000,000 | |
| mymfb.com | My Muslim Friends Book – helps you connect and share with over 500,000+ Muslims in over 175 Countries. | ||
| Myspace | General | August 2003 | 30,000,000+ |
| Nasza-klasa.pl | School, college and friends. Popular in Poland | 11,000,000 | |
| Nexopia | Canada | 1,400,000 | |
| Ning | Users create their own social websites and social networks | 2005 (Networks 2007) | |
| Odnoklassniki | Connect with old classmates. Popular in Russia and former Soviet republics | 45,000,000 | |
| Open Diary | First online blogging community, founded in 1998 | 1998 | 5,000,000 |
| OUTeverywhere | Gay/LGBTQ community | ||
| Partyflock | Dutch virtual community for people interested in house music and other electronic dance music. | 10 November 2001 | 321,125 |
| PatientsLikeMe | Online community for patients with life-changing illnesses to find other patients like them, share their data with others, and learn more about their condition to improve their outcome. | 2006 | 109,587 |
| Online pinboard for organizing and sharing things you love | 2011 | ||
| Plaxo | Aggregator | 50,000,000 | |
| Playfire | Computer and video games | ||
| Playlist.com | General, music | ||
| Plurk | Micro-blogging, RSS, updates. Very popular in Taiwan | ||
| Poolwo | Social networking site from India | 7 January 2014 | 12,350 |
| Quechup | General, friendship, dating | 2007 | |
| Quora | Questions and answers | 2009 | |
| Qzone | General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users | 480,000,000 | |
| Raptr | Video games | ||
| Ravelry | Knitting and crochet | 3,000,000 | |
| A social news aggregator, social bookmarking and social discussion site. Third most-visited site in the U.S. and sixth in worldwide. | June 23, 2005 | 330,000,000 | |
| Renren | Significant site in China. Was known as 校内 (Xiaonei) until August 2009. | 160,000,000 | |
| ReverbNation.com | Social network for musician and bands | 500,000 | |
| Rooster Teeth | Social network and community site | 4 October 2004 | 2,581,527 |
| Ryze | Business | 500,000 | |
| ScienceStage | Science-oriented multimedia platform and network for scientists | ||
| ShareTheMusic | Music community. Sharing and listening to music free and legally | ||
| Shelfari | Books | 11 October 2006 | |
| Sina Weibo | Social microblogging site in mainland China. | 14 August 2009 | 300,000,000 |
| Skoob | Collaborative social network for Brazilian readers | 2009 | 420,000 |
| Skyrock | Social network in French-speaking world | 22,000,000 | |
| SocialVibe | Social network for charity | 435,000 | |
| Sonico.com | General. Popular in Latin America and Spanish and Portuguese speaking regions. | 50,000,000 | |
| SoundCloud | Repository of original music pieces and networking. | 10,000,000 | |
| Spaces | Russian social network targeted to mobile phone users | ||
| Spring.me | Social network for meeting people | September 2013 | |
| Stage 32 | US-based social network and educational site for creative professionals in film, television and theater | February 2012 | 175,000 |
| Streetlife | UK based. Links members according to where they live | 21 March 2011 | 1,000,000 |
| Students Circle Network | A social network connecting students, teachers and institutions to course resources, study groups and learning spaces. | December 2010 | |
| StudiVZ | University students, mostly in the German-speaking countries. School students and those out of education sign up via its partner sites schülerVZ and meinVZ. | 17,000,000 | |
| StumbleUpon | Stumble through websites that match users’ selected interests | 20,000,000 | |
| Tagged | General. | October 2004 | 100,000,000 |
| Talkbiznow | Business networking | ||
| Taringa! | General (primarily Argentina) | 11,000,000 | |
| TeachStreet | Education / learning / teaching – more than 400 subjects | ||
| TermWiki | Learning / languages / translation – 1.2 million terms in more than 1300 subjects | May 2010 | |
| The Sphere | A private online social luxury network with exclusive personalized services | December 2008 | 1,300 |
| TravBuddy.com | Travel | 2005 | 1,588,000 |
| Travellerspoint | Travel | 2002 | 310,000 |
| tribe.net | General | ||
| Trombi.com | French subsidiary of Classmates.com | 4,400,000 | |
| Tsu | General | 2008 | |
| Tuenti | Spanish-based university and high school social network. | 12,000,000 | |
| Tumblr | Microblogging platform and social networking website. | February 2007 | 226,950,000 |
| General. Micro-blogging, RSS, updates | 15 July 2006 | 645,750,000 | |
| Tylted | Mobile social game network | 2007 | 3,000,000 |
| Untappd | Beer check-in social network. | October 2010 | 3,200,000 |
| Uplike | General | 2011 | 1,050,039 |
| Vampirefreaks.com | Gothic and industrial subculture | 1999 | 1,931,049 |
| Viadeo | Global social networking and campus networking available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese | 35,000,000 | |
| Virb | Social network that focuses heavily on artists, including musicians and photographers | 2007 | |
| VK | General, including music upload, listening and search. Popular in Russia and former Soviet republics. | September 2006 | 249,409,900 |
| Vox | Blogging | ||
| Wattpad | For readers and authors to interact and e-book sharing | ||
| WAYN | Travel and lifestyle | May 2003 | 10,000,000 |
| We Heart It | Image-based social network focused on inspiration, expression, and creativity | 2008 | 20,000,000 |
| WeeWorld | Teenagers – 9 to 17 | 30,000,000 | |
| Wellwer | Community without borders, where sharing is everything. | September 2011 | |
| Wepolls.com | Social polling network | ||
| Wer-kennt-wen | General | ||
| weRead | Books | June 2007 | 4,000,000 |
| Wooxie | Blogging and micro-blogging | ||
| WriteAPrisoner.com | Site networking inmates, friends, family | September 2000 | 66,000 |
| Xanga | Blogs and “metro” areas – now defunct | 1998 | 27,000,000 |
| Business (primarily Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)) | 11,100,000 | ||
| Xt3 | Catholic social networking, created for World Youth Day 2008 | ||
| Yammer | Social networking for office colleagues | 2008 | |
| Yelp, Inc. | Local business review and talk | ||
| Yookos | General: photos, videos, blogs, games. | ||
| Zoo.gr | Greek web meeting point | 2004 | 890,000 |
Keep in mind that scamming does not always require a profile on the individual site. In many cases it is about beginning through comments and then inviting the victim over to a specific social media such as Google Hangouts or Facebook.
SCARS™ Team
A SCARS Division
Miami Florida U.S.A.
TAGS: – Social Media, Online Fraud, Scammers, Scams, Where Scammers Work, Fraudsters,
END
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FAQ: How Do You Properly Report Scammers?
It is essential that law enforcement knows about scams & scammers, even though there is nothing (in most cases) that they can do.
Always report scams involving money lost or where you received money to:
- Local Police – ask them to take an “informational” police report – say you need it for your insurance
- Your National Police or FBI (www.IC3.gov »)
- The SCARS|CDN™ Cybercriminal Data Network – Worldwide Reporting Network HERE » or on www.Anyscam.com »
This helps your government understand the problem, and allows law enforcement to add scammers on watch lists worldwide.
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Important Information for New Scam Victims
- Please visit www.ScamVictimsSupport.org – a SCARS Website for New Scam Victims & Sextortion Victims
- Enroll in FREE SCARS Scam Survivor’s School now at www.SCARSeducation.org
- Please visit www.ScamPsychology.org – to more fully understand the psychological concepts involved in scams and scam victim recovery
If you are looking for local trauma counselors please visit counseling.AgainstScams.org or join SCARS for our counseling/therapy benefit: membership.AgainstScams.org
If you need to speak with someone now, you can dial 988 or find phone numbers for crisis hotlines all around the world here: www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines
A Note About Labeling!
We often use the term ‘scam victim’ in our articles, but this is a convenience to help those searching for information in search engines like Google. It is just a convenience and has no deeper meaning. If you have come through such an experience, YOU are a Survivor! It was not your fault. You are not alone! Axios!
A Question of Trust
At the SCARS Institute, we invite you to do your own research on the topics we speak about and publish, Our team investigates the subject being discussed, especially when it comes to understanding the scam victims-survivors experience. You can do Google searches but in many cases, you will have to wade through scientific papers and studies. However, remember that biases and perspectives matter and influence the outcome. Regardless, we encourage you to explore these topics as thoroughly as you can for your own awareness.
Statement About Victim Blaming
Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and to not blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and to help victims avoid scams in the future. At times this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims, we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.
These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.
Articles like these help victims and others understand these processes and how to help prevent them from being exploited again or to help them recover more easily by understanding their post-scam behaviors. Learn more about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org
Psychology Disclaimer:
All articles about psychology and the human brain on this website are for information & education only
The information provided in this article is intended for educational and self-help purposes only and should not be construed as a substitute for professional therapy or counseling.
While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.
Additionally, any approach may not be appropriate for individuals with certain pre-existing mental health conditions or trauma histories. It is advisable to seek guidance from a licensed therapist or counselor who can provide personalized support, guidance, and treatment tailored to your specific needs.
If you are experiencing significant distress or emotional difficulties related to a scam or other traumatic event, please consult your doctor or mental health provider for appropriate care and support.
Also read our SCARS Institute Statement about Professional Care for Scam Victims – click here to go to our ScamsNOW.com website.
But in my case the person has so many fake personas how can I report him? I actually have no idea what his real name is.
You can report the ones you know. Something is better than nothing.