SERIOUS....Is Your Facebook Account Safe???
By LadyMarissa
@LadyMarissa (12148)
United States
January 30, 2009 2:16pm CST
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/01/post-1.html#posts
I don't have a Facebook account, but this is scary. There will come a day when a member truly needs some help & nobody will be there for them just because of all the scams. Do you have a Facebook account??? Do you have a plan for when your account is hacked??? Do you know anybody who has had their account hacked???
2 people like this
7 responses
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
30 Jan 09
That's a scary story. Funnily enough someone contacted me on my Facebook account this morning asking me to go to the pub - in Toronto! He had got to me through a mutual friend. I might put a message out to my friends to ignore any cries from me for money. That was a useful piece of sleuthing LadyM. Thank you.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Thank you P1key. I was sleuthing something else when I accidentally ran up on this story. I know a lot of you are on Facebook & wanted to help protect my friends!!! I wonder if it was the same group that attacked here a week or so ago???
1 person likes this
@howard96h (11640)
• New York, New York
31 Jan 09
Wow, what a story. The criminals are getting smarter every day with their scams. I don't have a "facebook" account and I am not interested in having one either - especially after reading this.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
31 Jan 09
What a shame they don't use their talent for creative purposes instead of illegal crap!!! They could make a LOT more money creating security for systems than scamming a few people. Plus they won't be facing jail time when they get caught!!! I have a friend bugging me to join Facebook. When I ask what for she says So we can talk. We go to lunch together every 2 or 3 weeks, We can call on the phone anytime we need to talk. So why would I want a Facebook account to talk to her??? 
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I don't have a Facebook account. Really not interested in placing my personal information and photos all over the internet. Our kids do have an account and we've talked about it even though they are adults. The photos placed on their accounts are set to "private" so only friends and relatives can see them. I'm not very trustworthy when it comes to the internet.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I don't have one either. I've had a friend bugging me to set one up but I've not been interested. I sent this info to her suggesting she close her account. She is worth a good bit of money & her mother would pay without thinking!!!
1 person likes this
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
31 Jan 09
When it comes to things like this. NOTHING surprises me anymore! What I don;t understand though, is how friends of this person would think that of all mediums a person would use to try and get help, it would be Facebook! Personally I would have called the person or someone close to them to try and find out what's what before ever sending any money.
I am not aware of anyone that has had their Facebook account hacked before, but I am also not an overly active user of this site either. I don't like it at all to be honest and have a presence there as a formality really. One thing people should do when accessing sites like this is use https:// in front of the website address rather than just type in the www. If the site owners have security certificates (Like Facebook does) then adding the https:// will provide you with a far safer connection/link. It's a simple practice that can make all the difference.
What I don;t understand though, is how friends of this person would think that of all mediums a person would use to try and get help, it would be Facebook! Personally I would have called the person or someone close to them to try and find out what's what before ever sending any money.
I am not aware of anyone that has had their Facebook account hacked before, but I am also not an overly active user of this site either. I don't like it at all to be honest and have a presence there as a formality really. One thing people should do when accessing sites like this is use https:// in front of the website address rather than just type in the www. If the site owners have security certificates (Like Facebook does) then adding the https:// will provide you with a far safer connection/link. It's a simple practice that can make all the difference.1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I knew that worked for credit cards. Never thought to use it for anything else. Live & learn!!! I still believe this guy was specifically targeted. One of his friends said he thought Is this a scam. Why would he do it this way? Then he wired the money not once but twice. My thought would have been Why can he receive my money, but not from his wife? Then I'd probably call his wife. My other question is...why didn't he get up & check when his daughter told him he had a problem??? Working for Microsoft, he should be well aware of the dangers!!!
2 people like this
@dragon54u (31633)
• United States
30 Jan 09
That's pretty scary. I've never used Facebook and don't plan to. Isn't it amazing what people will do to steal money? If they took all that creativity and applied it to something positive they'd probably be millionaires, but they just use it to steal from people.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
30 Jan 09
From what I added up, they only received about $2,200.00...definitely not worth going to jail for. They could have done soooo much more if they used their brain for good. Sad they don't realize their potential!!!
1 person likes this
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
31 Jan 09
A general rule of thumb with any website is to
#1. Use a password that is not a word but an odd combination of numbers and letters (and save it or use Roboform). Too many people use passwords that are easy to figure out, mean something, etc.
#2. Change your password once per month.
#3. Do not share it with anyone you cannot trust 100%.
#4. Do not tick off the trusted person you let know your password!! LOL
I have no plan but it is good that you shared this. I will pass this onto my FB friends. It did happen to my daughter on MySpace, but they answered fast.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
31 Jan 09
You would think working for Microsoft, he would have been aware of the safety precautions...especially the password compliant rules. Part of what bothered me was that Facebook had no viable option for anyone having this problem. I can understand that they have a limited staff. But they could have a number that is voicemail only for people to report problems. If a Microsoft employee had that much trouble knowing what to do, how would an average person like me even have a clue of what to do. I don't have a friend who has a friend who works for Facebook. Of course, if anybody hacked mine & asked my friends for money, I could hear the wave of laughter...she wants what??? 
1 person likes this
@dik_an (475)
• Malaysia
31 Jan 09
I delete my facebook accounts because I think it's wasting time, a lot of people too show off and I'm tired with the scams.
The bad thing about facebook is the scam. My friend's facebook hacked by someone. It's very dangerous especially if we have personal photos and information on it. Moreover, the scam is a trap to make us go to one link, put our email and the scam will send more widely in our facebook's friends. At that situation it's so difficult to stop the scam from the facebook account.
