Scammers are luring Highland rail passengers with fake £2 ScotRail Smartcard offers on Facebook, raising concerns about online safety.
These scams claim you can snag a Smartcard for just £2, giving you unlimited travel for a whole year. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is! The low price and the use of AI-generated images are big red flags.
These fake ads are sneaking into people’s feeds and even showing up as sponsored posts. It’s alarming that some scammers are paying for ads, and Facebook isn’t catching them. David Ross from ScotRail is urging everyone to stay alert on social media.
He pointed out that fake accounts usually have way fewer followers than the real ScotRail account. If you’re ever unsure, just shoot them a direct message. ScotRail has been trying to get these scams off Facebook, but they keep popping back up.
The Friends of the Far North Line group is also spreading the word, warning people not to fall for these phishing tricks. One frustrated passenger even said it’s shocking that these scams keep slipping through Facebook’s cracks.
They feel like Facebook is more interested in making money than protecting users. It’s frustrating to see so much fake stuff cluttering up our feeds. People just want to see posts from friends without wading through all this nonsense.
Louise Primrose, another user, echoed that sentiment, saying reporting the scammers feels pointless. Facebook seems to ignore complaints from users while cashing in on ads. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, hasn’t commented yet, but it’s clear that users are fed up with the situation.
