Does your child use Snapchat? If so, Barking and Dagenham Council are encouraging parents to make sure they make their children aware of a new Snapchat scam.



The new scam has seen criminals taking over people’s Snapchat accounts and extorting money by threatening to reveal private photos. Fraudsters often contact the victim through an already hacked account so it appears that the user knows the person and then they will use different stories to try and influence them.



The stories that the scammers tell can vary, like claiming to be a friend who has been locked out, or needs help with their account, or that there’s been an incident and that they need money to help.



Residents can protect themselves by always contacting a person by another means if they receive a suspicious message from them on social media and should never hand out their login details to anyone and never share unique codes.



It is also advisable to always have a strong password and to always double accept friend requests and not accept them from people they don’t know!



Councillor Margaret Mullane, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “Scammers are everywhere, and each day are thinking of new and smarter ways to take advantage of people.



“They are becoming more prominent online and residents should be wary of everything they’re doing on the internet and social media. I encourage you all to not get caught out and never give out personal information such as passwords to anyone, not even your closest friends.



If you’re aware of a scam or suspect fraud, please report it to Consumer Advice on 0808 223 1133 and for more information, head here.