Social DM has been making the rounds online as a free way to make money on social media — but is the app legit, or is it just another scam to worry about? Online scams have been an issue ever since the internet has existed. Some people are determined to solicit money and personal information from others, and unfortunately, internet scams make it easier than ever to do these things.
Even with the heightened awareness of online scams, they’re still extremely prevalent everywhere you look. A recent iCloud scam saw one person lose over $650,000 in cryptocurrency and NFTs. The infamous Squid Game crypto scam made off with around $2.1 million in stolen funds last November, and a similar crypto scam based around The Mandalorian cost one TikTok influencer more than $10,000. The internet can be a sketchy place, and if you aren’t careful about the sites/apps you visit, it could cost you.
That brings us to the Social DM app. Social DM started gaining a lot of traction in April 2022, and upon first glance, it’s easy to see why. As soon as you visit the Social DM website, the page claims that Social DM “Is the direct way to earn $500 daily” and “make $500 today.” From there, the Social DM website explains how it works. Visitors are asked to sign up for a Social DM account, invite friends and family to do the same, and then cash out their earnings from apps like PayPal and Venmo. New users get a $40 sign-up bonus upon joining, plus $15 for every new person that joins with their invite.
Is Social DM A Scam?
If that sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. At its core, Social DM is nothing but a referral scam. Someone joins the site, invites other people to join, those people are tasked with inviting more users, and so on. It’s a constant process of people joining Social DM and referring others to do the same. It drives a heap of traffic to Social DM’s website, and Social DM gets people’s names and email addresses. In the end, it’s a never-ending cycle of people throwing views and personal information at Social DM in the hopes of making a few bucks.
But don’t just take our word for it. A dedicated r/SocialDM subreddit is filled with Social DM users complaining about the website not paying them as advertised. Social DM tells users that their payment is approved for review, is successfully reviewed by the Social DM team, and then scheduled to be sent out. However, nothing happens after that. Social DM says it’ll pay users on a certain day, that day comes and goes, and there’s no sign of any payment.
Even when a website like Social DM doesn’t ask for money/payments, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a scam. Some scams ask for money, but others — like Social DM — are phishing scams that gather as much personal data as possible. It’s far too easy to hand over your name and email to a website promising up to $500 per day, and that’s what Social DM is banking on. As such, it’s best to avoid Social DM, steer your friends/family members away from it, and get on with your day.
