Customer trust in social media is being eroded – it’s time for brands to take note.
Social media scams continue unabated – platforms are awash with fraudsters due to their lack of accountability when it comes to verification. If you haven’t fallen victim to one yourself, you’ll almost certainly know or someone who has, or have at least seen the swell of stories in the news.
Digital platforms are proving to be a lucrative hunting ground for fraudsters, who are predominantly targeting young users online.
The resulting impact is rock bottom levels of consumer trust in social media. It’s no surprise research from Callsign found just 29% of consumers have confidence in social media companies to protect their data.
It suggests many users feel not enough is being done to make platforms safe, with there still being gaps for criminals to exploit. In April of this year, both Google and Meta pledged to only allow registered financial firms to advertise on their sites. Despite this, these pledges are only voluntary, and cybercriminals have still been able to operate in this space.
This also doesn’t account for how easy it is for illicit actors to set up fake social profiles, due to the low levels of required verification. These allow criminals to impersonate individuals across a whole range of potential scams.
All this creates an environment which erodes user trust in these platforms. And the perceived lack of action is only driving consumer trust levels further down. Beyond just social media, for any brand which interacts with consumers online, it’s time to take note.
1. Making a mindset shift on digital identity
Acknowledging the importance of a digital identity will unlock greater trust in online services, from social media to mobile banking.
