I believe that social media does more harm than good. The topic I focused on in this PSA was scams and/or malware. My target audience is youth, mainly teenagers. My message is to be wary of scams and do not give away your information so easily. I want the viewer to really understand the idea that if it seems too good to be true, it’s most likely false. Scammers can take your information and use it to commit fraud or sign you up for random stuff, flooding your inbox with spam that may make you appear shadier than you really are. I want the viewer to understand that shady downloads can lead to PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs), which may not do any real damage but may clog up one’s computer and can be difficult to remove. Before giving away your information to any website or clicking on any download links, do some research on the website/download, read the “about us” page. If the website does turn out to be malicious, inform others about the website and about the user who sent you the link. Pay attention to all the details that you are being presented with, look for anything that seems off. Be wary of catfishing and do not open random emails and be careful when talking to strangers as they may try to scam you or infect your computer with malware. This is a very important topic, as phishing scams are quite common in today’s day and age, especially via catfishing. Shady downloads can be found all over the internet, such as offers for “free” photoshop licenses or “free” premium currencies in online games.

In 2000, the ILOVEYOU virus was spread from user to user via email, as people would receive an email with the subject line, “ILOVEYOU,” and would open it, with some thinking it was someone declaring their love for them. This is one of the most well-known examples of how malware can spread through social media. The ILOVEYOU virus cost between 5.5 and 8.7 billion US dollar in damages around the world. Recently, Israeli soldiers were tricked by Hamas agents pretending to be women online into installing malware and spyware on their phones. This is a modern-day example of how social media can be used to spread malware and can be used as a weapon.

Sources:

Cimpanu, Catalin. “Israeli Soldiers Tricked into Installing Malware by Hamas Agents Posing as Women.” ZDNet, CBS Interactive, 17 Feb. 2020, www.zdnet.com/article/israeli-military-tricked-into-installing-malware-by-hamas-agents-posing-as-women/.

Garza, George. “Top 10 Worst Computer Viruses.” Catalogs.com, Catalogs.com, www.catalogs.com/info/travel-vacations/top-10-worst-computer-viruses.html.

Gewirtz, David. “Scam, Spam and Phishing Texts: How to Spot SMS Fraud and Stay Safe.” ZDNet, CBS Interactive, 31 Jan. 2020, www.zdnet.com/article/scam-spam-and-phishing-texts-how-to-spot-sms-fraud-and-stay-safe/.

McGuire, Dr. Michael. “Social Media Platforms and the Cybercrime Economy.” Into the Web of Profit, Bromium, www.bromium.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Bromium-Web-of-Profit-Social-Platforms-Report.pdf.