The offer in the comment is the bait, not the win
In short: scam comments promising work from home, quick loans, contest wins or “safe investments” are almost always scams. Their goal is to move you into a private conversation on Telegram or WhatsApp, where you are asked for a fee, your card details or access to your account. Do not click the link, do not reply, report the comment and move on.
Table of Contents
The danger of scam comments
I want to show you a technique often used to lure inattentive users, or people with little experience of social platforms, into fraud through scam comments on social media. Scammers use fake or already compromised accounts to post tempting offers, links or alarming messages under popular posts, manipulating victims into sharing personal data or making payments.
How can you fall into the scammers' net online? What is the bait?
There are many genuine ways to earn well from home, such as freelance work, which lets you manage your own time and income. Financial investments can also bring extra income, but they require caution, research or even advice from a specialist.
Online income is another attractive option, for example selling digital products on dedicated platforms or creating content on demand.
This is exactly what scammers count on when they cast their bait: every user’s wish to find a better, more flexible job or a faster income.
Be careful with messages urging you to open Telegram or WhatsApp links or to write in private; these approaches are often suspicious, especially when they contain grammar mistakes, a sign that they are probably scams.
How do you end up losing your money and your Facebook account?
By going along with requests to:
- pay access, registration or “file processing” fees;
- buy starter packages, subscriptions or online tools;
- pay a fee to withdraw your “winnings”;
- give access to your account and personal data, very often including your bank card.
Once the payment is made or the account is taken over, the scammers disappear, leaving victims without the promised job or service. They exploit trust and the need for quick income, often using convincing testimonials or fake company names to look legitimate. The comments usually come from new or hijacked profiles, unrelated to the group, with photos taken from other accounts.
Phrases scammers use online
Here are phrases scammers use often (you have probably seen them too, especially in large public Facebook groups, where posts are flooded with these scam comments). The examples below are translated from comments in Facebook groups from Romania; the pattern is the same in every language.
Work from home
- Work from home packing cosmetics! Inbox for details.
- Simple job packing products from home. Contact us for more information.
- Earn money packing products from home. Details in private message.
- Want a part-time job? Work from home packing products. Write to us now!
- Looking for people to pack products at home. Weekly pay.
- Hiring for packing products at home. Quick contact!
- Job from home: packing products. Ideal for moms.
- Earn money packing products from home. No experience needed.
- Packing products at home, guaranteed earnings! Contact us for details.
- We are looking for people to assemble pens. 1 pen is 5 lei, the more you assemble, the more you earn, if you are interested please send me a MESSAGE
- We are looking for data entry operators, paid daily. Details at [link]
- WHO wants to work from home, MATERIAL IS NOT DELIVERED BY THE COMPANY. (PAY FROM 260€ TO 650€ DAILY): Click below to apply [Telegram link]
Loans and investments
- Hello, we offer loans from 2,500 to 900,000 euros at a rate of 2%. If you need a loan, write to us: [link]
- New app, similar to selfpay, except you get a fixed bonus of 250 lei for signing up and 250 for every friend you invite! Message me for details!
- A bold step of positivity brings huge paths to success. We all have to work hard to reach our goals”.. I appreciate these words from you. And I am glad I invested through your platform [link to a fake profile]
- 0.50 EUR per minute 88.2 EUR per hour 391.7 EUR per day No risk/Automatic registration/No minimum payment. Instant withdrawal can be sent to your bank.
- Looking for a trustworthy source to make legitimate money? [Fake name] delivers results and peace of mind, contact him below [link to a fake profile]
- URGENT loan offer ranges from €1,500 to €2,000 to €5,000. If you need it fast, contact my WhatsApp page [link]
- Hello everyone, this is BNP Paribas bank, we are available to everyone who would like to apply for money online and does not yet have the possibility, or everyone who has been hurt by fake lenders, we are here to wipe your tears. Please do not hesitate to contact us, because good service is at the heart of our financial structure. [link]
- Are you a business manager, property developer, farmer, winemaker, breeder, credit buyer, hotelier, merchant or someone else with a major project, and do you need investment or loans to grow your business capital, we grant 5,000 EUR to 10,000,000 EUR. hesitate to contact us, the party is coming
- I found a source of income that brings me a nice income, with real people and real money. Do you want some cash in your pocket too? I am waiting for you in private for details
- Got scammed and lost money? I was in that situation too, but now I found something super good, waiting for you in private with details.
- Hello if you need a real loan, there is a woman who offers a real loan, helping me get a loan of 10000 € in 6 hours. Please contact her for your financial problems instead of being robbed by these malicious people. Please contact the woman on WhatsApp
- This is the best bitcoin platform I have ever come across, 100% legit. Thank you admin, click the link below to join this platform and if you do not have the Telegram app, download it and click the link, you will join the bitcoin platform and earn in just 24 hours. [Telegram link]
- I do not have to convince people to invest and earn, it is a choice to give up if you do not believe in the process because of bad experiences you had with others, but it is better to know that many people keep profiting from this platform, with the manager [link to a fake profile]
Winners of online lotteries and contests
Fake online lotteries and contests are common in scam comments, promising quick wins and asking for personal data or payments to claim the prize.
Victims are manipulated into moving to messaging apps to continue the conversation. Once in private groups or chats, the people caught by these scams are pressured to give personal information or make payments to “claim” a prize or get access to a seemingly exclusive opportunity.
Avoiding these scams is very simple! Did you enter an online contest? No? Then it is clearly fraudulent! Read more in the article about fake lotteries and giveaways.
Pyramid schemes
You find them in posts like:
- Online business. No sales targets, no obligation to buy products. Generates significant passive income.
- Urgently looking for XX people who want to work from home.
Careful, these are not job offers. They are pyramid schemes with no guaranteed income at all! Watch for spelling mistakes and texts that make no sense. With a little attention you will also notice that the “recommendations” repeat, always coming from the same people who are part of the pyramid network. Read more in MLM truth claims vs research.
Other scams
- Hello Contact to get a driving licence of any category in any emergency, authentic, reliable, safe and legal, available and accessible to anyone living in Europe
- 100% legal and reliable driving licence, if you are interested, write to me in private on WhatsApp:
- My name is [name], a lonely old woman with no heirs, on my deathbed. At 82, I withdrew from public life after my husband passed away 15 years ago, and now I suffer from a terminal illness. I have no one left in this world and only want to use my fortune to do good. Over my life I saved 850,000 euros, which I want to donate to a kind-hearted person who will help people in need and fulfil my last wish. I believe you are that person. Please, if you feel called to continue this noble mission, write to me as soon as possible.
or
- Repetitive comments from many profiles with no connection to the original post
All these scam comments redirect to Telegram or WhatsApp, where scammers can complete the fraud without (for now) the risk of being identified.
The signs of scam comments
Whatever the story (job, loan, prize, investment), scam comments share the same signs:
- they send you to a private chat on Telegram or WhatsApp and do not answer in the comments;
- they promise a lot of money for very little effort;
- they ask for a fee before you receive anything (registration, file or withdrawal fee);
- they appear word for word under dozens of posts, from profiles unrelated to the topic;
- they rush you: “today only”, “limited places”, “reply now”.
What's new in 2026
- Fake loans in Facebook groups (August 2026). Romania’s National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) warned that scammers post loan offers in groups dedicated to credit, then move the conversation to WhatsApp. There, in a friendly tone, they ask for your name, income, address, photos and a copy of your ID. The same profile photo appears on hundreds of fake accounts, so a reverse image search (Google Lens) can keep you out of the trap.
- “Summer jobs” and paid online tasks (June 2026). Fake job ads promise a lot of money for simple work, only talk to you on messaging apps and never give you a contract. With “online tasks”, you first receive small amounts to build trust, then you are asked to deposit money to “unlock” bigger earnings. And a “financial assistant” job, where you receive money in your account and send it on, can make you an accomplice to money laundering.
- Meta removed 10.9 million accounts linked to scam centers (March 2026). The company says that in 2025 it removed more than 159 million scam ads and 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to criminal scam centers. On Facebook it is testing warnings for friend requests from people you have no mutual friends with or who appear to be in another country, and in Messenger it is expanding the detection of suspicious messages, including job offers. The big numbers also show how many fake accounts there are: your attention remains the safest filter.
However convincing the story, the step that gives it away is the same: moving the conversation into private messages and asking for data or money.
What to do if you already replied
If you clicked a link or wrote in private, you can limit the damage:
- Do not send money and stop replying. Scammers keep insisting to make you pay.
- If you gave your card details, call your bank immediately and block the card.
- If you gave your password, change it now, turn on two-factor authentication and sign out of sessions on other devices.
- Keep the evidence: screenshots of the comment, the profile and the conversation.
- Report the comment to Facebook and tell the authorities (see below).
If the message also had a link, see how to recognize a fraudulent website, and for your accounts, how to protect your social media accounts.
Where to report
- your national cybersecurity authority (in Romania, DNSC: phone 1911 or alerts@dnsc.ro);
- the police, by filing a complaint, if you lost money or gave personal data;
- the platform itself, using its report function.
Are you an administrator or moderator of a Facebook group or a business page?
When you spot scam comments in the groups or pages you manage, delete them immediately and block the account (most likely a compromised, hacked account, taken over through phishing).
Facebook’s Admin Assist can help you prevent scam comments by setting keywords that are rejected automatically, in line with your group’s profile.
Educate your audience with regular informative posts and keep your group clean and free of scammers.
Frequently asked questions
Why do scammers send me to Telegram or WhatsApp?
There, the conversation is no longer visible to others in the group, and scammers can ask for money or data without being noticed.
Is any “work from home” job found in comments real?
A serious employer does not recruit you through a comment and does not ask you for money to start. If the offer appears in a comment and sends you into private messages, treat it as a scam.
What should I do if I already gave my card details?
Call your bank immediately, block the card and ask them to trace the transactions. Then file a police complaint.
How do I get rid of scam comments in my group or on my page?
Delete the comment, block the profile and set words to be blocked automatically. For a page, Facebook lets you block certain words from comments.
Sources
- Bitdefender: Telegram scams: Top 8 to watch out for
- Bitdefender Labs: Sponsored Ad Fraud: Mystery Box Scams Flood Social Media
- Facebook: Block certain words from your Page comments
- Meta: Fighting Scammers and Protecting People With New Technology and Partnerships (March 2026)
About the author
Brîndușa Maria, Senior Software Test Analyst, ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level Test Analyst (CTAL-TA). I write about how to recognize online scams. LinkedIn
Note: this article is based on my research and professional experience. I used artificial intelligence tools for drafting and editing.
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