BE CAREFUL OR BE SCAMMED
The modus operandi is quite simple — the perpetrators target people at random and create a fake Facebook account of a particular person
IWAS browsing my Facebook newsfeed recently when I noticed a friend request from someone who was already in my friends list. Surprised, I clicked on the profile first because I wanted to make sure that it really was her. As I scrolled down the page, I realised that we had no mutual friends, all her photos that she had uploaded earlier had disappeared and whatever posts that were visible on the page were full of grammatical errors and/or simply didn’t make sense.
That’s when I figured out exactly what was going on: the account did not belong to my friend and it was merely a ruse to get my phone number for scamming purposes.
You see, I was already well aware of this particular scam because some months back, a close friend was tricked into giving out her phone number and lost thousands of ringgit in the process.
The modus operandi here is quite simple, really. They basically target people at random and create a fake Facebook account of a particular person. They impersonate the said person by making sure that the profile and cover pictures, as well as basic information are exactly the same as the one found in the original account. They would try to make it look as authentic as possible so that it would be easy to get victims who would fall for the trick hook, line and sinker.
They would then go through the friends’ list found in the original Facebook account, and proceed to send these people friend requests. Many of them in the list would obviously recognise the name and photo and accept the request without thinking twice.
Soon after, these unsuspecting victims would receive a message from the fraudster via Facebook Messenger, asking for their mobile phone numbers, along with the service providers. Once the information is shared, the victims would have a one time password (OTP) verification sent to them. The fraudster, still impersonating as the victim’s friend, would then proceed to ask the victim to hand over the OTP by claiming that they had lost their phones and would need the help of their friends to send them the OTP in order to locate their lost phones.
Later on, the victims would be in for a nasty shock when they receive their mobile phone bills, as they would’ve been charged for unknown and unauthorised transactions. These transactions, involving the purchase of online gaming credits among a multitude of other items, would usually run in the thousands of ringgit.
I alerted my friend about the fake account and she immediately put up an announcement on Facebook to inform her friends not to accept any friend requests from anyone claiming to be her.
Don’t fall victim to scams like this. All you need to do is just follow a few simple steps to stay safe.
It is important to note that we should be wary of accepting friend requests from anyone. Sure, you many know him but it doesn’t hurt to make sure that you really know the person first before accepting friend requests, and sharing sensitive information such as mobile phone numbers and home addresses.
Also, if you are already friends with a particular person and he sends you a second friend request, do not accept it. Of course, the first thing that we would think of would be, “Oh, he deleted me and now wants to reconnect!” and accept the request without hesitation. Don’t fall for that trap. Call or personally text your friend to ask if it really was him.
It would also be wise if your friends list is set to private. The main reason why some accounts are chosen over others is because their friends list is not hidden and open for anyone to see. Fraudsters would usually pick these accounts because it makes it easier to impersonate the person and trick as many people as possible.
Think first, before doing something. Reason first, before acting on impulse. Contemplate first, before making a decision. One can never be too careful, especially in the age of Internet and online money swindling.
Take precautions today so that you don’t end up crying tomorrow.
Don’t fall victim to scams like this. All you need to do is just follow a few simple steps to stay safe. It is important to note that we should be wary of accepting friend requests from anyone.
The writer, a lecturer at Sunway College, is a Malaysian-born Eurasian with Scottish/Japanese/Indian lineage. She believes in a tomorrow where there is no racism and hatred.