Angel
New Member
Posts: 6
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Post by Angel on Apr 11, 2018 15:37:23 GMT -5
My stepmothers account has been hacked or something. She rarely uses it, but about 2 weeks ago I got an invitation from "her" to contact by messenger. I knew it wasn't her. I contacted her daughter (she lives next door to her) and told her to help her change her password. I warned people not to add her to messenger as it wasn't really her.
Her password was changed, but people are still getting invitations from her, friend requests, etc. These people don't even know her, but have friends that know her. How can we fix that? Is there anything we can do? Thanks.
p.s. I did engage the scammer. They asked if I had heard about the new federal government grant offer. When I confronted them, they asked me if I was from SABO. I googled that and didn't find anything. (except a street artist by that name.)
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Post by jholland1964 on Apr 11, 2018 15:51:13 GMT -5
I would strongly suggest that you go through the information on these pages to see what to do. Report Facebook Account for ImpersonationHacked Facebook AccountsDoing that was absolutely the worst thing you could have done. Extremely dangerous. Engaging a scammer tells the scammer that he has hooked a new victim. Now it is likely that your information has also been hacked or will be very soon. The number one rule is Never, Ever interact with a scammer. The more you do then the more information and very often money they can steal. Where and how did you do this "engagement" with the scammer? What scammer? How did you locate this scammer? Doing so you very possibly have put yourself, your personal information, your email account along with all of your contacts, your bank account and your computer in grave danger. |
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maxwell
Member
Banned
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle
Posts: 16 
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Post by maxwell on Apr 11, 2018 18:47:11 GMT -5
i have gotten several of these in private message on friends messenger. so i ask them a few questions they go silent .i never give personal information out . this face book scare is just a scare .i realize that this will bring a disagreement . word of advice if you dont know them close it out and ignore
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Angel
New Member
Posts: 6
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Post by Angel on Apr 11, 2018 21:45:15 GMT -5
When I engaged the scammer, I was just chatting them back on messenger. I had to make sure it wasn't my stepmother, since there could have been something going on with her (she has health issues, and lives a few states away from me) Other people I know also chatted "her" since they didn't know it wasn't her. I gave no information, and as soon as I knew it wasn't her for sure, I closed the chat. I will check out the links you posted. Thanks.
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Post by jholland1964 on Apr 11, 2018 22:11:00 GMT -5
Since you are several states away there is little that you personally can do. Send the links to her daughter. The account likely has been hacked because "friends of friends" are receiving message requests from her account which definitely IS a symptom of the account being hacked and this poses dangers to others. If she doesn't use the account then it might be prudent for her daughter to delete the account entirely. If she doesn't want to do that then all security settings need to be "beefed up" for sure.
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Post by Everton on Apr 12, 2018 9:31:22 GMT -5
The scammer has likely just stolen your Stepmum's photo and details to create an identical account which her friends could be tricked into responding to and somewhere along the line be asked to send money etc. Unfortunately changing her password (although the correct thing to do) will not stop the scammer. They have created a clone of the legitimate account. They are pretending to be someone else for their own gain. You have been given good advice to report them and hopefully FB will be able to prevent any further activity from them. Other than that making your stepmother's friends aware of the situation is the best you can do. I agree with the advice given above that it may be prudent to delete her account completely and if she wishes to then create a new one that is securely locked down, not enabling scammers to see personal information that can then be used to trick friends into believing the scam account is real. All of her 'friends ' would need to be notified that she has a new account. preferably by someone else such as her daughter so that there is no room for any more confusion as to who is the real person. The Government Grant scam you experienced on Messenger is just one of the con scams that has been around for some time. Next you would have been asked to pay a processing fee to receive your 'grant'. Read about it here www.bbb.org/en/us/article/news-releases/16920-bbb-tip-government-grant-scamYou were savvy enough to recognize the message as a scam but anyone less so and more vulnerable could easily be taken in by these lower than low thieves. These people are criminals !! |
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Paul D
Member
Posts: 106
Former World Start Member: Yes
World Start Name: Paul D
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Post by Paul D on Apr 17, 2018 12:12:20 GMT -5
i have gotten several of these in private message on friends messenger. so i ask them a few questions they go silent .i never give personal information out . this face book scare is just a scare .i realize that this will bring a disagreement . word of advice if you dont know them close it out and ignore In another thread you state your facebook settings are public. That means that every time you use Facebook you make everything you have ever done on Facebook public. Research Cambridge Analytica. How you choose to manage Facebook is your business, but please stop giving demonstrably bad advice to others. |
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maxwell
Member
Banned
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle
Posts: 16
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Post by maxwell on May 5, 2018 21:26:08 GMT -5
hey Paul D my computer is safe my family and i are safe..i chose to run public and many others are public ..the advice i have given is how i run.. it would do you good 1. this is public forum.. 2. i dont need your advice... 3. if you dont mind thank you
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Post by bigbarney on May 5, 2018 22:29:32 GMT -5
hey Paul D my computer is safe my family and i are safe..i chose to run public and many others are public ..the advice i have given is how i run.. it would do you good 1. this is public forum.. 2. i dont need your advice... 3. if you dont mind thank you You say that you never give personal information out and then you say that your Facebook account is public. Sounds to me like you very much do need Paul's advice. Your tone in answering Paul also leaves a lot to be desired. We are all volunteers here so sarcasm is totally unnecessary. |
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Post by jholland1964 on May 5, 2018 22:49:33 GMT -5
hey Paul D my computer is safe my family and i are safe..i chose to run public and many others are public ..the advice i have given is how i run.. it would do you good 1. this is public forum.. 2. i dont need your advice... 3. if you dont mind thank you Maxwell, this is not a public forum in the sense that you must join to be able to post . You must apply to join and we don't have to approve a persons request to join and we don't approve them all either. It is public in the sense that anyone can come here and read but if bad, unsafe or incorrect advice is given by one of those approved members that is a violation of the rules set by us and by ProBoards because that may endanger the public and may result in the banning of that member posting the unsafe or incorrect advice. You personally certainly can run Public on Facebook, this is a free country but in view of recent security breaches even Facebook does not recommend users run Public, they don't stop you but they certainly make it known that they cannot guarantee that your information will not be shared or taken and used by others. I see no way that this would do anybody any "good". It is well known that the estimate of 50 million users whose data was breached in the Cambridge Analytica is a conservative number. A key piece of that stolen data was users contacts lists so even those who run private are put at risk by those like you who run their Facebook accounts public. We do all we can to help our members stay safe online and one safety step we recommend here is follow all advice concerning keeping their social media accounts safe, secure and private. Suggesting that it is safe for people to run their Facebook accounts publicly is, as the recent breaches of those 50 million+ Facebook accounts prove, not something we recommend here. Paul was NOT giving you advice he was requesting that you not give bad advice to others. I will second that request. |
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Post by Everton on May 6, 2018 2:20:17 GMT -5
Anyone believing that their privacy is protected with a public Facebook account that allows them to be a victim of identity theft, phishing attacks or other malicious actions is entitled to their own opinion and the consequences as well. Receiving several messages from strangers proves the point. If that is they way a person wishes to operate that is their own business but should not be accepted as good practice nor should it be recommended in a thread where the OP is trying to protect an account.
Post #2 came very close to being deleted at the time of posting and it needs to be understood that any post considered to be poor advice OR deliberately confrontational risks being deleted at any time.
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maxwell
Member
Banned
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle
Posts: 16
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Post by maxwell on May 7, 2018 19:01:01 GMT -5
Anyone believing that their privacy is protected with a public Facebook account that allows them to be a victim of identity theft, phishing attacks or other malicious actions is entitled to their own opinion and the consequences as well. Receiving several messages from strangers proves the point. If that is they way a person wishes to operate that is their own business but should not be accepted as good practice nor should it be recommended in a thread where the OP is trying to protect an account. Post #2 came very close to being deleted at the time of posting and it needs to be understood that any post considered to be poor advice OR deliberately confrontational risks being deleted at any time. i would say scan my computer and i will prove my point in running public .but my p.c is my privacy |
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maxwell
Member
Banned
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle
Posts: 16
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Post by maxwell on May 7, 2018 19:05:47 GMT -5
hey Paul D my computer is safe my family and i are safe..i chose to run public and many others are public ..the advice i have given is how i run.. it would do you good 1. this is public forum.. 2. i dont need your advice... 3. if you dont mind thank you Maxwell, this is not a public forum in the sense that you must join to be able to post . You must apply to join and we don't have to approve a persons request to join and we don't approve them all either. It is public in the sense that anyone can come here and read but if bad, unsafe or incorrect advice is given by one of those approved members that is a violation of the rules set by us and by ProBoards because that may endanger the public and may result in the banning of that member posting the unsafe or incorrect advice. You personally certainly can run Public on Facebook, this is a free country but in view of recent security breaches even Facebook does not recommend users run Public, they don't stop you but they certainly make it known that they cannot guarantee that your information will not be shared or taken and used by others. I see no way that this would do anybody any "good". It is well known that the estimate of 50 million users whose data was breached in the Cambridge Analytica is a conservative number. A key piece of that stolen data was users contacts lists so even those who run private are put at risk by those like you who run their Facebook accounts public. We do all we can to help our members stay safe online and one safety step we recommend here is follow all advice concerning keeping their social media accounts safe, secure and private. Suggesting that it is safe for people to run their Facebook accounts publicly is, as the recent breaches of those 50 million+ Facebook accounts prove, not something we recommend here. Paul was NOT giving you advice he was requesting that you not give bad advice to others. I will second that request. you feel free to second all you want . i will run this by putin see what he has to say lol .i know people who run private and are still hacked.. you just feel free to ban me this forum was DOA @ start much like world start .that use to be the tops on info happy trails ya all |
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Paul D
Member
Posts: 106
Former World Start Member: Yes
World Start Name: Paul D
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Post by Paul D on May 7, 2018 19:10:41 GMT -5
Anyone believing that their privacy is protected with a public Facebook account that allows them to be a victim of identity theft, phishing attacks or other malicious actions is entitled to their own opinion and the consequences as well. Receiving several messages from strangers proves the point. If that is they way a person wishes to operate that is their own business but should not be accepted as good practice nor should it be recommended in a thread where the OP is trying to protect an account. Post #2 came very close to being deleted at the time of posting and it needs to be understood that any post considered to be poor advice OR deliberately confrontational risks being deleted at any time. i would say scan my computer and i will prove my point in running public .but my p.c is my privacy Scanning your computer would prove nothing. It's what is now stored FROM your computer on other computers that's the problem, and no scanning will reveal that. |
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maxwell
Member
Banned
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle
Posts: 16
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Post by maxwell on May 7, 2018 19:54:43 GMT -5
i would say scan my computer and i will prove my point in running public .but my p.c is my privacy Scanning your computer would prove nothing. It's what is now stored FROM your computer on other computers that's the problem, and no scanning will reveal that. paul everyone else p.c is OK so do your self a favor PUT A SOCK IN IT .ya all can ban me i really dont care . only certain ones can make replies for all I know you might be a hacker good day to you .i should have never joined this forum.. |
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Post by Everton on May 7, 2018 20:18:00 GMT -5
Agreed
You never should have joined
this thread is is now locked.
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Post by jholland1964 on May 7, 2018 20:44:23 GMT -5
Scanning your computer would prove nothing. It's what is now stored FROM your computer on other computers that's the problem, and no scanning will reveal that. paul everyone else p.c is OK so do your self a favor PUT A SOCK IN IT .ya all can ban me i really dont care . only certain ones can make replies for all I know you might be a hacker good day to you .i should have never joined this forum.. Only approved registered members can post here and. we can see, stop & block hackers, Paul_D is NOT a hacker, he is a well respected registered member here as he was for many years at World Start. You, Maxwell, have your wish, you have been permanently banned and can no longer post here. |
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