Scam Alert: High school and college students at risk of influencer scams

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning of a scam targeting high school and college students.

According to the BBB, scammers are targeting young people, asking them if they want to help represent their brand.

High school and college students see influencers on their social media feeds every day talking about events, products, or experiences.

And now, with social media being such a big part of our everyday lives, the idea of earning money through apps like Instagram and TikTok has grown especially for students.

According to Cynthia Lavin with the BBB, these students are more susceptible to falling victim to scammers on social media.

“High school students and college students are susceptible because they’re usually trying to make a little bit of extra money online because then it allows them to still be able to go to their classes while they still spend a lot of time on their phone," said Lavin.

Lavin says now that influencers are such a big part of social media, kids in school see this as a career path they can follow

And they’re receiving messages from accounts saying they love your profile and would love to work with you but asking you to DM their main account.

Lavin says these scams also involve companies asking you to spend your money first.

“That is a red flag of a scam, if they have to purchase anything in advance in order to have this employment, quote-unquote, then that's really the sign of a scam," said Lavin.

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Local influencer, Cristyle Egitto, has been working in her profession for 10 years she says even now that she gets these messages all the time.

“They'll say, you're so cute, you match our look in our field, we want you to be a brand ambassador, go buy our jewelry, and it just it shouldn't look like that," said Egitto.

Egitto says if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

“It's social media, it's the Wild West if to really protect yourself, be very careful. Again, don't put out money, don't send any personal information, and make sure that you feel really good about it before you share your address. And nothing that's too personal," said Egitto.

She says brand deals or collaborations she works on reach out to her in different ways it just depends on the size of the brand and how many influencers the company is reaching out to.

“It could come by way of a DM, it might come from a PR company, it could come directly from a business via email," said Egitto.

But she says being an influencer is fun and she hopes people can focus on that and not succumb to these scams.

“Do partnerships that feel good and authentic and genuine to you and your audience," said Egitto. "Have fun with it!”

Local influencers say to check the email addresses of companies wanting to work with you, if it came from a Gmail account, it is most likely not from the actual company. And do your research if an account DMs you. If their account has a significant following but low engagement, they most likely bought followers to try and trick people into working with them.