The unknown and the invisible exploit the unwary and the uninformed for illicit financial gain and reputation damage

Deception is concerned as a deliberate act intended to mislead others, while targets are not aware or do not expect such acts might be taking place and where the deceiver aims to transfer a false belief to the deceived. Social media provide new environments and technologies for potential deceivers, involving content, sender, and communication channel or all three together. In most social media platforms, communication is generally text-based and asynchronous, giving deceivers an advantage for altering content. The underlying software design of social media can also affect the degree of suspicion; the level of perceived security by potential victims increases the likelihood of success for would-be deceivers. The social media industry must design applications with rules and norms lacking in traditional physical space. Various hybrid deception techniques that manipulate a sender's information have been reported in the literature, and are highly effective in social media that highlight user identity and provide one-to-one or one-to-many communications.