We’ve all seen them, in fact I saw one yesterday. !!!!!! Do not accept friend request from XXXXXX XXXXX she’s a hacker!!!!! But is it true? What will really happen if you accept a friend request from someone you don’t know? They will have access to your personal information (which you shouldn’t allow anyway), but if someone tells you a Facebook friend request is a hacker, does thaty really mean they will hack your computer and all of your Facebook friends’ computers? Let’s find out.
What’s mentioned above is actually a hoax and it has been running around Facebook for quite a bit of time. And while it is true that there are people out there copying profile images and names, posing as an individual, in effect creating a duplicate account, going through and requesting all of your friends again, they aren’t hackers.
Snopes provides several examples of what this hoax look like below:
- Do not {read / open / respond to / join}
- an {e-mail / text message / friend request / }
- Sent by {real name / e-mail address / screen name}!
- If you do, {you / your computer / your Facebook account / everyone on your contact list / your children}
- Will be in danger of falling victim to a {serial killer / computer virus / hacker / predator}.
These messages are circulated around and around with names swapped out randomly. And with names you would know, making you more likely to believe the hoax.
One of the most widely used hoaxes is to not accept friend requests from hackers named Christopher XXXXXX and Jessica XXXXX or they will somehow figure out your computer’s ID and address.
If you open a message that contains a link, NEVER click on it. This goes for anything, a message, an email message, even if it isn’t coming from a hoax like this. Always go to the source. Links can contain a virus which can infect your computer, and can gain access to bank accounts and so much more.
There was another hoax involving all the major internet email players like Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo and others. Microsoft and Norton sent users an email warning them they might receive an email titled “Mail Server Report”. Advising them that when they opened it, they would get a disturbing message stating that “It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful.” Users would lose everything in their computer. They were asked to pass it on immediately.
Subsequently there were different variations of this in Italy, West Africa, and again in the United States.
The bottom line is that this will continue, these are hoaxes, they’re scare tactics. Don’t spread the fire. Don’t open anything suspicious, and especially, don’t click on any links!
