Beware Facebook IPO Scams

In one of the biggest news stories in recent years, Facebook announced its initial public offering last week. While the news has everyone buzzing about how much profit they can make buying Facebook stock, there’s one group who will cash in without even buying any—scammers.

Facebook stands to make a lot of money with its IPO—$5 billion is a lot, right? Anyone investing in Facebook’s stock is going to make some money. No doubt about it. Who wouldn’t want to get in on this? Think of the rewards! Now imagine getting some stock for free. Cha-ching!

I know, free stock sounds too good to be true. That’s because it is. If you thought getting a free Costco gift card or free iPad get lots of people to fall for a scam, just think of how many would sign up for some free Facebook stock?

People want a huge payout from this IPO, but you can’t get that with change from the couch cushions. You need serious chunks of change invested. If someone doesn’t have the cash to get in on it, the offer for free looks more and more appealing.

Free stuff can make people do funny things, but the thought of all that profit can easily cloud someone’s judgment. What’s so bad about filling out a simple survey if it means free Facebook stock?

Well two things. One, you just gave away all of your personal info to a cyber criminal. Two, you don’t actually get any stock. The shares didn’t exist. Oops.

The stakes are a lot higher here because of the huge potential for profit. That means you have to be even more careful. You don’t want to jump onboard the chance of a lifetime only to come out empty handed.

Remember, if the offer is too good to be true, it is.