Facebook Messenger Fraud – Beware!

A great way to keep in touch with people you don’t get to see often is through Facebook and Facebook Messenger. With more people staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may find yourself using Facebook more often than before to stay in touch. With more people using Facebook, there are even more people using the platform with malicious intentions.

According to an article on www.fraud.org, here are some tips to help prevent becoming a victim of Facebook messenger fraud.

• Scammers can easily create a false Facebook account pretending to be someone they are not. Therefore, if someone reaches out to you that looks like they’re an old friend, verify that is in fact who you are talking to. A way to know if they’re who you think they are is to check their profile. In some cases you might already be friends with them, and you can see if this is a duplicate profile. If you’re still not sure if they are who they say they are find some sort of question relating to the past that only they would know.
• If someone reaches out and asks you to send money to them in exchange for any type of payment or reward, it is a scam.
• Beware if they request to take the conversation off of Facebook to texting. This is a big red flag as scammers are monitored on Facebook.
• Consider setting up two-factor authentication. Turning this feature on will make you required to enter a special code (usually an SMS code sent to your phone). This way, if a scammer somehow got access to your email and password, they wouldn’t be able to get the code needed to log in, and they would be stopped from accessing your account.
• Avoid posts that tell you to “copy and paste” instead of simply sharing the post. Some marketers will use people to build a list and contact them by sending messages and friend requests. Watch for words that are either misspelled or unusual for the context, as these can be signs of fraud.

You can read the full article by going to https://www.fraud.org/fb_messenger_alert

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