Internet Fraud: 2017's Fyre Festival

Criminals are always coming up with new ways to scam people. Internet fraud happens through email all the time and one should be diligent, however scammers are getting new ways of income all the time. Billy McFarland is one example of social media growth and its' cons.

Small businesses use social media marketing all the time, and the Fyre Festival is a marketing success story, that put a man in jail with many out of thousands of dollars. Billy McFarland and his business partner decided to host a "high-end" music festival on Bahamian island. McFarland had world-wide social media influencers and models post an orange tile image with a promotion of the festival, over 400 people did this on social media. Some tickets sold upwards of $12,000 for the luxury weekend vacation. Hundreds of people bought tickets and went to Bahamian island in 2017, for "three days of peace and music." When these customers arrived, there was nothing there for them aside from a storage container for their luggage. McFarland and his partner rapper Ja Rule weren't selling an actual product or experience, but a feeling. This swindled and cheated hundreds out of their money and hundreds more had been fooled into promoting the Fyre Festival only for McFarland to get six years jail time which he has served and his partner to get away entirely.

Not only can businesses and marketers scam virtually anyone through social media, but people with good intentions can be victims and perpetrators at the same time. Always look into what you are promoting when promoting businesses and events online. Always look into what you might actually be paying for when buying online, even if you trust the person advertising, they might not truly know what they are advertising for.