"I went to a job search site on Facebook and was offered to host a TV show. I played along, they were supposed to be a TV station, but they didn't even have an office. I told them to come to my office if they wanted to work with me. They stopped writing to me and then the profile casually disappeared," says Carolina (not her real name), a 31-year-old Salvadoran who participated in a session of the IOM's “Think Twice” Virtual Camp on Migration.

She knew it couldn't be that simple, though of course it was tempting. Today, Carolina confirms that she made the right decision. Misleading jobs are just one of the many traps that have proliferated in recent years by taking advantage of social networks. The 2018 UNODC's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons   recognizes that these platforms have become a frequent means used by human trafficking networks.  

 

How are social networks used to deceive people?

Social networks are convenient anonymous spaces where traffickers can initiate contact with potential victims. Distant love relationships, supposed job interviews and appointments to visit apartments are some of the trickeries that can attract cybernauts to arrange meetings in person.  

Human trafficking is certainly a very important risk, but it is not the only one. It is estimated that less than 60% of Internet activity is carried out by people (Read, 2018). The remaining 40% is occupied by bots, which direct traffic to misleading sites or generate clicks. Through these techniques, many sites can try to gain access to our devices and steal sensitive information, such as banking information, among others.

Another form of extortion consists of taking intimate photographs or compromising material to demand money or some material benefit from the victims, threatening to display what they possess in front of their family and friends. Remember that on a social network there is usually a list of our acquaintances available for anyone to see.  

 

So how can we take care of ourselves?

Deception and misinformation can cause damage to people's finances, health and wellbeing. In the context of COVID-19, these risks become more visible as offers of magic cures and unexpected jobs proliferate.  

In a survey conducted with 429 young people in Central America during May 2020, 47% mentioned Facebook as one of their main sources of information, while 31% mentioned the Internet, in general. The prevalence of the use of digital media to obtain information highlights the importance of having tools to discern which are reliable sources.

Module 6 of the handbook Journalism, "False News" and Disinformation, published by UNESCO, highlights two good practices that we can use whenever we are faced with the Internet as a source of information:

  • Face the information with skepticism, hesitating first and then seeking confirmation.  
  • Doubt anonymous sources: trying to find out who initially published it will be a good exercise every time we don't know the origin of a message.  

Through the "Think Twice" campaign, IOM has developed these and other tips together with young people from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, so that everyone can make informed and safe decisions. In the context of COVID-19, unraveling what is true and false on the Internet is more important than ever.  

Think Twice is a Communication for Development (C4D) campaign, created using the IOMX model.  To learn more you can visit the following link: somoscolmena.info/en/pensalo2veces

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