When you are added as a friend on Facebook
by someone who is already in your contact
list, be careful! It might be a fraud.
by someone who is already in your contact
list, be careful! It might be a fraud.
The scheme of fraud
First, a copy of a real Facebook profile is
made with the real photos and personal data
added. Then the felons begin to add friends
from the victim’s contact list.
Many people add a new friend seeing a
familiar name and face. By no means should
you do it, unless you make sure it is the real
account of your friend or relative.
Experts warn, that you provide the felons
with your personal information when you add
a fake friend.
They will be aware of your
posts, location, birth date etc. They also will
be able to send messages to your friends on
your behalf in order to gather more
information about you or to borrow money
from them.
Research shows that fake accounts are
used to con people into borrowing
money which is never returned.
Be careful! When you get a friend application
from someone who is already in your contact
list, make sure that the request is not a fake.
Ignore the requests from perfect strangers!
In addition, it is recommended to use more
strict privacy settings. It is better to give a
friends-only access to your profile, photos,
etc.
Another way to protect your account, is to
limit the access to your friend list.
To do it,
open Friends tab and choose Friends in the
line Who can see your friend list?
A story of a fraud victim
“One day I got a request from Inna, a distant
relative who I don’t see very often. It
looked strange, as she was in my friend list
by that time. But I thought that her old
account could have been blocked and added
her. A few minutes later, the new friend
texted me, and after a short exchange I got a
very peculiar message:
“I am so happy! Just imagine, I got 200 000
grivnas by National Help Campaign! They
help the retired, the disabled and the poor,
just like us, to improve our lives”.
After this I knew it was a fraud. I
informed my real relative, whose profile was
still active, that her page was copied.
I also
noticed that a fake Inna had 34 friends added
the same time as me. There was just a few
photos on her page and the ridiculous
spelling mistakes made me think of a fake”.
This story is just one of thousands.
How to protect your account
1. Check your friend requests thoroughly.
Take a closer look at the profiles of your new
aquaintances. Make sure the request is not
sent by someone from your contact list.
2. Remember that your friends can be hacked
too. Do not click the links they send to you
thoughtlessly.
3. Pay attention to the grammar and spelling
of the messages. Misprints and ridiculous
mistakes are characteristic of dodgers.
4. Check your friends’ page. When a friend of
yours unexpectedly begins to post quick
earning schemes, celebrity gossip or requests
for material help, you should inform the
owner of an account directly. When a person
rarely sees their Facebook page, they might
be unaware of being hacked.
Remember! Your safety depends on you!
