The most common scenario is someone copies the name, profile picture and other available photos of their intended victim. The next thing they do is send friend requests to everyone on the victim?s friends list. This is done to infiltrate their social network. Once this part of the mission is complete, the scammer has a variety of options at their disposal. They can:
- Data mine the accounts they have friended under the bogus profile. Even if you have your privacy and sharing options set to ?Friends Only,? you are still at risk if you accidentally accept a duplicate friend request.
- Gather enough information and target close friends and family members with something called the ?Grandma Scam.? The scammer contacts people close to the victim and tells them that they are in trouble of some kind, usually stranded on vacation, arrested or in some other legal trouble, etc. This is accompanied by an urgent plea to send money ASAP via Western Union.
- Spam scam links to everyone on their friends list. This is a common social engineering tactic used by online fraudsters. The goal is to use the trust of the victim?s social circle to make the scam more believable. We have seen scam messages promoting diet pills, free gift cards and pleas directing people to check out photos and videos. (These are just a few examples.)
Unknown con artists aren?t the only ones creating duplicate profiles and pages. Bullies often create fake profiles with the intention of humiliating or harassing their intended victim.
What precautions can you take?
- If you receive a friend request from someone you are already friends with, don?t confirm the request until you verify it with your friend.
- Profile pictures and cover photos are public by default, and this can?t be changed. Don?t post a photo of yourself that can be copied and used against you. Use a generic photo or a photo of something that has meaning to you, but one that doesn?t contain your image.
- Make sure your privacy and sharing options are set appropriately so that people you aren?t friends can?t view your photos, videos, etc.
What should you do if you are a victim?
- Report the offending profile or page to Facebook. Below you will find the Help Center topics from Facebook that address this issue.
- Let your current friends know about the fake profile. This simple step can help keep your friends from friending the bogus account and can save you both a lot of trouble.
- Contact your local law enforcement authorities. Most jurisdictions have laws in place against identity theft, harassment and cyber bullying. You may have to press the issue with them, because it isn?t uncommon for some agencies to avoid cases like this. Law enforcement agencies can subpoena or otherwise obtain information from Facebook that will help determine the identity of the person that created the offending profile.
- If you live in the U.S., then you can report the incident to The Internet Crime Complaint Center. Other countries often have similar agencies, so contact your local authorities or do an Internet search to obtain this helpful information.
Recommended Resources
BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams on Facebook.
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