No one has been hacked…

More times than I can count, I have received a friend request on Facebook from someone whom I am already friends with. Of course, the new profile is not actually my friend but rather a scammer looking to scam anyone willing to respond to the message. 

Inevitably, a few people will accept the friend request not knowing that it isn’t a genuine profile. These people will usually receive a message from the fake profile. The scammer will make conversation, building trust. Eventually, the scammer will share details about a government grant program that awards you thousands of dollars. All you need to do is chat with the “claiming agent” to claim your prize. The claiming agent will ask you for personal info that can be used to steal your identity, and eventually ask you to send hundreds of dollars as a shipping fee. 

How do I know this? I have chatted with these scammers, an activity known as scambaiting. I do not recommend doing this, as you can accidentally give away your information if you aren’t careful!

Eventually, someone will post on the friend’s original, genuine profile reporting the fake profile. “You’ve been hacked!” is usually what the post reads. 

However, in 99% of cases: no one has been hacked.

Let’s start with the definition of hacked. 

The Cambridge Dictonary defines “hacked” as follows: 

Technically, the scammers are not doing anything without permission. Yes, they are impersonating someone without their permission, but they don’t need to compromise an account to find the details to convince someone that they are a friend. In most cases, scammers download someone’s profile and cover photo and use their name to open a new Facebook account. Next, they send a friend request to everyone on the victim’s public friends list. 

This is all public information, there is no “hacking” going on here. No one’s account was compromised, a scammer just picked a random person. It’s become my pet peeve to see “you’ve been hacked” posts. They aren’t really helping anyone, just cluttering up someone’s profile.

What should I do instead?

Instead of posting “you’ve been hacked”, you can report the profile to Facebook for impersonation. Most of the time, Facebook’s AI will note the similarities in the profiles and close the impersonator’s profile. 

When you start a report, you can tell Facebook which of your friends the profile is impersonating. They will then follow up with your friend to let them know about the fake profile and will update them with their decision. The more people who report a profile, the more likely it is to be taken down. 

Visit this Facebook help article for instructions: https://www.facebook.com/help/167722253287296/

What can I do to protect myself?

Be Smart!

If you get a friend request from someone, inspect it before accepting. Look for spelling mistakes. Check the time stamps on the profile. If every post and update was made in the last hour, chances are it’s fake. If you do end up getting a message from the fake profile, stop to think if the grammar and writing style matches how your friend usually talks to you. 

Another word of wisdom: if the scammer makes it seem urgent, it is a scam. Scammers know that they only have so long before the account is taken down, so they need to hook you and get your money before Facebook can do anything. 

Privacy Settings

Facebook’s privacy settings leave a lot to be desired. Many of us may not realize it, but our name, profile pictures, friends list, and biographical information are public on Facebook for the world to see.
To protect yourself from being impersonated, you can double check that your privacy settings are configured to your desired level of privacy. 

A great first step is to visit the Facebook Privacy Checkup. This will walk you through your privacy settings and allow you to change what others can see. Here, you can also set up two-factor authentication and change ad personalization preferences. 

https://www.facebook.com/privacy/checkup

Two-Factor Authentication

The best way to protect yourself from actually being hacked is to enable two-factor authentication. When it is enabled, you must provide a code sent to your cell phone number in order to log in to Facebook. This means that if someone gets your username and password, they won’t be able to access your account and cause issues. 

Visit this Facebook help article for information about enabling two-factor authentication: https://www.facebook.com/help/148233965247823

In Closing…

As with everything in life, use common sense. Stop and think, don’t make decisions without thinking them through. When in doubt, use restraint. And most definitely do not post “you’ve been hacked”! 

© 2022 Matt Green