Scammers and cybercriminals have an almost endless variety of ways to take advantage of users on Facebook. And according to a recent report from CNET, that includes tricking users who want to become verified into handing over their personal info.

These scams work by directing users to fake verification forms, or by messaging them with promises of verification. For its part, Facebook strongly reiterated that this sort of hustle is explicitly against the platform’s rules.

“If we detect that verification was acquired in a malicious way, or that an individual is selling verified accounts to others we will take action that could lead to permanent removal from Instagram,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “[We conduct] regular sweeps both on and off the platform to remove malicious actors from Instagram.”

However, as more people attempt to grow their personal brands on social media, scams like this are likely to only grow in scope.

“The realistic part of me was like, ‘don’t fall for this scam,’ but then he started sending all these videos and photos of him being able to do it,” an anonymous user who fell for one such con told CNET. “All these little red flags were going off in my brain, but I was super excited. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

As usual, if something on Facebook seems too good to be true, it probably is. It’s best to avoid clicking any link that looks vaguely suspicious, because you never know who could be using it to collect your info.

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