Social engineering scam on Facebook offering transportation discounts locally
A global scam is currently underway on Facebook, with fraudulent pages impersonating public transport services in cities such as Berlin, Barcelona, and locations across France, Spain, the UK, and Russia. These pages offer travel cards at suspiciously low prices to lure users into clicking links that lead to phishing websites designed to steal payment and credit card information.
According to Maldita.es, a Spanish fact-checking organization, over 1,000 such scam pages have been identified on Facebook. These pages, active between July 2024 and July 2025, target 746 cities and regions worldwide, including major European cities.
The scam begins with Facebook pages pretending to be official local transport services promoting low-cost travel cards. Clicking these ads directs users to phishing sites that capture payment details. Administrators of these pages are mainly located in Vietnam, while most phishing domains are hosted on Russian IP addresses, highlighting a global scam network with cross-border infrastructure.
The scammers extensively use paid ads on Facebook and Instagram to spread their phishing posts; over 9,000 paid ads were used. While Meta removed some ads for violations, the fraudulent pages remained accessible as of July 2025.
To avoid falling victim to this scam, users should be wary of suspiciously low prices on transport cards or tickets, ads coming from Facebook pages with few followers or minimal genuine interaction, being redirected from social media to unfamiliar websites asking for payment or sensitive personal information, URLs that don’t match official transport service websites or have suspicious domain names, and requests for full credit card details or payment outside secured platforms.
If users suspect they have been compromised, they should report the phishing website URLs to anti-phishing organizations or cybersecurity authorities in their country, inform their bank immediately, and stay updated on official announcements from local public transport authorities warning about such scams.
It is important to note that the scam is not limited to public transport offers but may involve other types as well. Users on Facebook should remain cautious and report any suspicious public transport offers to Facebook's reporting tools.
In conclusion, this Facebook-based public transport scam is active internationally, targeting unsuspecting users to steal payment data via phishing websites linked through fake transport service ads. Vigilance and prompt reporting through Facebook and relevant authorities are essential to mitigate harm.
Cybersecurity authorities worldwide should prioritize addressing this global scam on Facebook, as it exploits technology for crime-and-justice purposes by impersonating general-news entities like public transport services. Users should be cautious when offered low-priced travel cards, be wary of ads leading to unfamiliar websites asking for sensitive information, and report any suspicious public transport offers to Facebook and their respective cybersecurity authorities.
