tech

Number of Facebook identity thieves on the rise

8 Comments

A new scam going around Facebook is increasingly targeting users in Japan with "friend requests" from fake accounts that use the names of those already on their friend lists.

Growing numbers of users in the country have been receiving these fake friend requests, as identity thieves seek to gain access to real accounts. The number of reported abuses has been growing since May.

By taking the account names of existing users and then sending "friend requests" to those they are already connected too, the identity thieves have been able to access the news feeds of users. Sometimes the names are exactly the same, while in other instances the names are misspelt by a single letter. If more than three fake friends are connected, having a personal account locked and taken over is then possible.

If you receive a "friend request" that contains the same first and last name as an existing Facebook friend, or that of a common friend, be wary. Especially so if the requesting account shows a profile photo of an anime or Disney character.

© Japan Today

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8 Comments
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I love it when "cool" people like It"s Me jump into conversations that has nothing to do with them. If it's not relevant to you why waste your time? If everyone stops using Facebook you won't be "cool" anymore. This is useful information for people to be aware of. Thanks JT.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@chibachick - exactly, I did a triple take on that line and still can't figure out what it means

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I often get friend requests from girls who have smoking hot profile pics or with no profile pics.

When looking at their friends lists they're often filled with just a few guys (often with a few from southeast Asia); no people; or the person just joined FB with no comments or activities.

These fake accounts also tend to have the same four to six pages that are "liked" such as "Facebook", "JFA" (Japan Football Association), etc.

Usually a short one-line message asking how or where I met them tends to expose them for who they are since the scammers rarely reply.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

this happened to me 2ce! (got 2 fake requests) funny how many people will just add the fake account without asking if it is real. seems to be common with Japanese names in kanji they make another one in Romaji.

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If more than three fake friends are connected, having a personal account locked and taken over is then possible.

Huh? How? Kind of a crucial bit of missing info there. Doesnt matter how many friends you have, they still dont have access to your password etc.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Glad that I don't' use Facebook, more holes than Swiss cheese.

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Thanks for the heads up JT.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This happens alot on my Facebook and had no idea why I kept getting from a user that had already been added and listed under friends. In fact, I accepted it 2 times, wonder if security has been breached? Why doesn't Facebook make their users aware of this?

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