Of 4,840 social media accounts associated with 10 top brands, 19% were fraudulent. Because of its massive user base and increased corporate spending, social media is now an attractive cybercriminal target.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based security firm Proofpoint's latest quarterly threat summary Q2 Social Media Brand Fraud investigated how this business risk is evolving. The threat team examined Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram from April through June 2016 for branded accounts claiming to be associated with ten top global brands.

Researchers revealed, "Companies have embraced social media as an essential marketing communications tool. And they continue to build out their social presence. In fact, 38% of companies plan to spend more than 20% of their total ad budgets on social media channels." Organizations expect to spend $35.98 billion on social media advertising in 2017, up nearly 50% from 2015 totals, according to eMarketer.