A warning for Facebook users (again)

It’s important that this message from 2022 is repeated. This problem isn’t going away.

Many of the people running scams on Facebook look like real people, perhaps even people we know. That’s because they ARE the profiles of people we know. It’s family members, friends, workmates or strangers but these are their real profiles which have been taken over by scammers.

How do they take over people’s Facebook profiles? It’s a lot simpler than people think. The accounts aren’t “hacked”, the hackers don’t have amazing technological skills, it’s much simpler. They get the login details and passwords simply by asking for them. And the victims hand them over without any protest. What makes them do this? Money. Late last year, a real Facebook profile tried to post this message in the Consumer Watchdog Facebook group: “I will help 20 people with P700 who can complete the word that start with M and end with D.” I contacted the poster asking if that was true. They told me, “Before we proceed on the giveaway to tell you that we are doing this giveaway for the people that are serious and really in the need of money hope you understand?” They then asked for my name and basic details, including my email address and cell number and then said: “You will receive a confirmation code now, send it to me immediately so we can verify your account for the giveaway”.

That code is the one Facebook sends to someone who has forgotten their password. If they get that code, they could change your Facebook password, take over your account, and then use it to run their scams.

Please don’t fall for this. Do you really want to give away your Facebook identity to a scammer that all your friends and relatives will think is you?