Yet another sucker scam is going around Facebook, spreading like wildfire but this time it’s a bit more personal. It’s happening on Messenger
Messenger is Facebook’s way of allowing one to one or one to many text chats, and when one comes in you kinda feel like its a very personal message from your friend, which is why so many people are responding to this one:
Please tell all the contacts in your messenger list not to accept Jayden K. Smith friendship request. He is a hacker and has the system connected to your Facebook account. If one of your contacts accepts it, you will also be hacked, so make sure that all your friends know it. Thanks. Forwarded as received. Hold your finger down on the message. At the bottom in the middle it will say forward. Hit that then click on the names of those in your list and it will send to them
The thing is, there is no Jayden K. Smith out to hack you – there are a few Jayden K. Smith’s on Facebook, some might be new accounts taking advantage of this new scam, some might be legit.
The point is, the message is completely bogus.
Do not forward it to your friends, just ignore it.
Why is it happening? Someone want’s the notariety of making everyone forward the message, there is actually no “scam” benefit, other than to possibly trick a bunch of people into adding a Jayden K. Smith as a friend and possibly scamming them after that.
I suspect the long game here is to trick people into forwarding more and more content via messenger, and in doing so trap people into clicking links etc.
So – do.not.forward.this.message.
Train yourself that these kinds of things, just like these kinds of things:
Are SCAMS.
It’s a timely reminder too – you shouldn’t be adding people on Facebook who you don’t know. They can learn so much about you, your life, your family, your location, your interests that it can and will be a steady walk into identity theft.
Tell your kids this too – they are likely to be adding anyone and everyone, because it’s “cool”. It’s not – it’s creepy.
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts two popular podcasts, EFTM and Two Blokes Talking Tech. He also appears on over 50 radio stations across Australia weekly, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show each day and appears regularly on A Current Affair.
Father of three, he is often found down in his Man Cave.
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