• by Colin Kirkland , February 2, 2022

On Monday, software and cybersecurity company Norton LifeLock introduced a new feature intended to help customers better protect their social media accounts from harmful attacks. 

“Social media has connected our world more than ever before, but despite its many advantages, there are real risks,” says David Putnam, head of Identity Protection Products at Norton LifeLock.

According to Backlinko, there were only 970 million people on social networks in 2010. That number jumped to 2.7 billion in 2015, and as of 2021, it has reached 4.48 billion -- more than half (56.8%) of the world’s population. As this number continues to rise, threats will increase as well.

From investment scams to online shopping scams, most originate on social media platforms. Scams on social media tripled in 2021. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission reported that consumers lost $770 million to social media scams last year. This number is 18 times higher than it was in 2017. 

Norton’s Social Media Monitoring will specifically scan for account takeovers, risky activity and inappropriate content, including scams or hacking and phishing attempts –– behavior that cost Americans hundreds of millions of dollars.

Across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and more, service customers will be notified of any suspected account compromise or potential malware links appearing in their account feed. 

In addition to scams, Social Media Monitoring also helps protect children and younger users against cyberbullying on their social feeds. Norton will send alerts around content that may be sexually explicit, drug-related or violent, or that includes hate speech.