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  The scam every Facebook user should be aware of

The scam every Facebook user should be aware of

WWW.INDY100.INDEPENDENT.CO.UK
Published : Jul 1, 2016, 10:27 pm IST
Updated : Jul 1, 2016, 10:27 pm IST

A new scam is sweeping across Facebook and it’s a lot harder to spot it than you think.

Representational image
 Representational image

A new scam is sweeping across Facebook and it’s a lot harder to spot it than you think.

According to the Better Business Bureau a hoax that targets people through their friends has emerged. The scammers recreate a person’s account using details from their original Facebook page’s ‘about’ section, and begin adding the person’s friends on Facebook.

After establishing contact and familiarising themselves with their victim’s friends, the scammers ask the friends for money, citing some sort of emergency.

There are a number of ways you can prevent this from happening: Strengthen your security — you don’t need to add information about where you live, or details about your place of work. It might be better to change the privacy so that only friends of friends can add you on Facebook. If you have received a FB friend request from someone you think is already your friend, check before accepting. Keep your photos and posts private, to prevent scammers from getting information about you.