THE DIY SCAM GUIDES ON SALE FOR A FIVER

HOW-TO scam guides are being sold on popular social media sites including Facebook and Twitter.

They teach would-be fraudsters how to use stolen credit cards to buy goods from online retailers such as Amazon and eBay without getting caught.

Others offer instructions on how to hack into laptops.

Money Mail understands the booklets have been available on the dark web, a hidden part of the internet popular with cybercriminals, for years. However, they have begun to be traded on popular social media sites recently.

Experts believe the increased activity is because more young people have been out of work in the pandemic and are therefore more susceptible to promises of quick and easy cash.

One young woman offered Money Mail a copy of a scam guide for $45 (£34) via Facebook. Other members of the Facebook group claim to be selling stolen details including credit card numbers and PayPal logins. In another group, the guide was being sold for $25 (£19). A user on eBay was selling one for £14.99, and on Twitter they go for as little as $5 (less than £4).

The guides are also being sold on YouTube with the claim of being for ‘educational purposes’. One user described one of these as being ‘informational heaven’.

Cyber security expert Jake Moore, from antivirus firm ESET, says: ‘We are seeing dark web material brought onto social media for everyday people.

‘Fraud promises high rewards. With these guides being so easily available, people could be enticed into breaking the law and getting a criminal record.’

A Facebook spokesman says: ‘There’s no place for fraudulent activity and we have removed the pages and accounts brought to our attention. We continue to invest in people and technology to enforce our policies, and we urge people to report any suspicious activity to us.’

Twitter suspended the accounts after Money Mail brought them to its attention. A spokesman says: ‘Where we identify violations of our rules, we take robust enforcement action.’

YouTube says it removes footage that violates its policies and has now taken down the videos flagged by us.

An eBay spokesman says: ‘Encouraging or enabling illegal activity is prohibited. Any listings found to be against our policy will be removed.’