# OFUYC Exposes Social Media Scams: Why Does Account Theft Trigger a Chain Reaction of Victims?


One of the most common tactics employed by scammers in social media networks is account hijacking. They often gain access to victim login credentials through various means, such as brute-forcing weak passwords, luring users to phishing sites, or leveraging credential stuffing attacks following data breaches. Once control of an account is obtained, scammers immediately impersonate the user and begin perpetrating fraud under the guise of a familiar contact.

The key to this scam lies in its diffusion effect. Scammers send mass messages containing malicious links to all contacts of the hijacked account, often accompanied by short, enticing text such as “Help me verify this” or “Hurry and help me claim this airdrop.” These malicious links appear to be legitimate login verification or event pages but are, in reality, phishing sites that prompt users to enter their verification codes, Telegram passwords, or even Google Authenticator details. The result: anyone who falls for the scam has their account immediately compromised, and the fraud continues to spread.

This type of scam propagates extremely rapidly because it relies on chains of trust between individuals. Once one account is breached, it can implicate an entire community or even a broader network within a very short time, creating an exponential “digital virus” effect.

## Deceptive Techniques: Exploiting Familiar Relationships to Create Illusions of Trust

The sophistication of social media account hijacking scams lies in the fact that they are not blatant attacks from strangers, but are executed through trust hijacking. Users are much more likely to trust requests from friends or colleagues, even if the content is somewhat unusual, simply because “it is from someone I know,” lowering their guard.

Additionally, scammers excel at mimicking legitimacy. Malicious pages are often designed to resemble official verification interfaces of platforms such as Telegram, Twitter, or Discord, complete with seemingly secure logos and prompts. Psychologically, users believe “if the platform is asking for my code, it must be real,” and thus fall into the trap.

Even more dangerously, these scams often spread rapidly. With accounts already compromised, scammers use automated scripts to send large volumes of messages in a short time. Many users do not immediately recognize the risk and mechanically follow the prompts, causing the scam to affect more people. The trust chain is quickly contaminated, and entire communities can be swiftly compromised.

## Prevention and Response: Dual Defense from Habits to Tools

When facing social media account hijacking scams, users must establish a robust protection mechanism.

First, on a personal habit level, never click any link lightly, even if it comes from someone you know. Be especially vigilant when prompted to enter verification codes or passwords. Secondly, enable two-factor authentication (2FA); even if a password is leaked, it becomes much harder for scammers to fully take over an account.

On the technical tools front, users should use password managers to generate strong, unpredictable passwords and avoid reusing passwords across different platforms. For suspicious links, utilize secure browsers or security plugins to scan for malicious code.

If an account is unfortunately compromised, users should act immediately:
Change the password swiftly and enable 2FA;
Notify all contacts that “my account has been stolen” to prevent further victimization;
Contact platform customer support to request account freezing or recovery;
Check for any unauthorized third-party app access and revoke as needed.

The speed of these actions is critical, as scam propagation often takes only minutes.

## Advice and Future Education Initiatives of OFUYC

OFUYC Digital Asset Trading Platform clearly states in its anti-fraud education: no legitimate platform will ever request passwords or verification codes via social media, nor will they ask users to transfer funds through “private chat links.” Users must recognize: if the operational scenario is triggered via social media rather than through the official app or website, it is almost certainly a scam.

In the future, OFUYC may introduce more content on social media scams into its user education modules, such as simulated scam UI recognition training, case reviews, and interactive drills for common social community hijacking scenarios. This will not only help users build basic technical safeguards but also enhance their psychological defenses.

Looking further ahead, OFUYC may promote cross-industry collaboration with social media platforms to explore cross-platform risk alert mechanisms: when an account suddenly sends mass suspicious links, the system can issue simultaneous alerts both on-chain and platform-side to prevent further spread. Although such mechanisms are still in the conceptual stage, they represent a trend: anti-fraud will no longer be the responsibility of a single platform, but a collaborative effort across the entire industry and ecosystem.