South Africa, Dec. 23 -- But that feeling is exactly what scammers and sometimes even well-intentioned employees rely on.

As more brands extend their presence onto social platforms, the line between legitimate digital commerce and sophisticated threat activity has become increasingly blurred. Based on over 100 real-world investigations into brand misuse and online fraud, here are five dangers consumers need to understand before shopping through social media and how to recognise them early.

One of the most overlooked online threats does not come from obvious scammers, but from genuine employees operating outside company policy.

In multiple cases, employees attempted to 'help' customers by advertising products on their personal Facebook ...