Friend Requests:
“Joe Schmo would like to be your friend.”
When you receive a friend request on Facebook, it is very important to be sure that the person who wants to be your friend is a real person as opposed to a fake profile set up by spammers or hackers.
Obviously if you know the person “friending” you, there is not much to worry about but very often we receive these requests from people we don’t know or don’t think we know.
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The first step to assuring you are not confirming a spammer or hacker as a friend is to simply take a look at the respective profile.
A few things to look for:
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Does the person have other friends and do they have mutual friends:
This is a good thing to look at. Very often, spam/hacked profiles are new profiles and therefore does not have many friends. When I get a request from a new account with less than 50 or 100 friends, I will usually wait a couple of weeks before I even consider confirming that person as a friend.
This is a simple step and will help you determine whether your new “friend” is actually a friend or just someone looking to steal your information.
Does this person have wall posts:
Another simple way to tell if this potential friend is a real person is by looking at their wall. If they do not have any wall postings, 99 percent of the time that profile is not a real person.
Even people that just get on to Facebook will normally have a post like “it’s about time you decided to join” or something along those lines. No wall posts = No Confirmation of Friend Request.
Pictures:
Take a look at the persons pictures. If they don’t have any photos, or their photos all look like they belong in a picture frame, you usually want to stay away.
Emailed Notifications:
Quite simply, do not click on email notifications. This is one of the number one ways spammers send out viruses.
You will get an email saying something like, “Jame Smith has posted photos of you.. click here to see them.”
My simple remedy for this is to just go to Facebook (via your browser). You will then see a notification, if the pictures are real, that you have been tagged in pictures. This method works for any Facebook type email notification, videos, posts on your wall, etc. Just delete the email and visit your Facebook profile.
As more and more people join and use Facebook, more and more spammers and hackers are looking to take advantage of them. It is important to use your head while browsing the internet, viewing emails, and using websites.
This post originally appeared at UBE, Inc.
About the Author...For more information about this article, or to learn more about Seth Meyerowitz & UBE, Inc. please visit our website. UBE is a full service, Long Island Based, Online Marketing Company.
