Facebook is one of the most visited websites on the Internet, and with over two billion registered users, it’s a virtual gold mine for scam artists out to make an easy buck.
All Facebook users are susceptible to scams, encounters with fake accounts, and even identity theft.
Facebook account cloning is a simple and widespread scam – but it’s easy to be fooled by it. A cloned account is a copy, that uses your profile photo and other public information to trick your friends into giving up their information. A cloned account may convince your friends to send them money, collect passwords or other information, or dupe them into other scams.
Red Flag 1: Receiving a new friend request from a Facebook friend
If you’re already connected on Facebook, you should not receive a second friend request. It is very possible that this is an account cloning scam. Alert the person that someone might be impersonating them on Facebook, so they can inform their network. It will also help to report the cloned account as ‘pretending to be someone else’.
Red Flag 2: ‘Friends’ suddenly asking for monetary help on Facebook
Always check your facts before you help friends in trouble, especially if they are asking for urgent financial assistance. Take care how you get hold of a friend you’re worried about – never reply directly to an online account that could have been hacked. Find another way to contact your friend, based on information you already have in your possession.
Red Flag 3: Account has only a few photos posted
The scammer’s aim is to use minimum effort to create the illusion that a real person is behind the account so they don’t bother too much with fleshing out a personal life.
Red Flag 4: Account has very limited or unrealistic biographical information
If the biography information on the account seems fanciful or just plain unrealistic, then it’s likely to be a fake account.
Red Flag 5: Account hardly has any activity
Blank walls are a dead giveaway for a fake account. If your possible ‘new friend’ has either no activity or just a few likes – then be suspicious.
Make your social media profile private. Limit the visibility of your profile information to your friends. This way, scammers will not have enough information to make your cloned profile look legitimate (refer to red flags 4 and 5).
Avoid posting publicly. Set the privacy of your posts to ‘friends only’, from your night out to family vacation photos, to photos of you at work. Don’t give scammers the materials and information they need to set up a convincing clone of your account.
Look yourself up from time to time. It may help to look up your name on social media (and even Google) from time to time to see if there are any suspicious accounts using your name. This will also help you from being caught off-guard shall the potential scammer decide to make a move.
Think before you click. Do not just click on any link you see on your timeline, even those sent by your friends via messaging apps. Check with your friend first what the link is about, or where it directs to.
Enable login alerts and multi-factor authentication. Take advantage of Facebook’s security features to prevent your account from getting hacked. Login alerts notify you of any unrecognized login, either from an unrecognized device or IP address. Multi-factor authentication strengthens the security of your account by requiring a special login code or a confirmation of your login each time there is an attempt to access your account from a browser or mobile device Facebook doesn’t recognize.
Avoiding scam on social media requires a two-fold approach: First, you need to avoid getting scammed by a someone pretending to be your friend. Second, you need to avoid being used by scammers in deceiving people online. By being vigilant when using social media and by protecting your own privacy, you help fight these cybercriminals, and help colleagues from becoming victims of scams.
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