Many of my Facebook friends received 'Friend Requests' from me and if they accidentally accepted I believe they were bombarded with private messages and rubbish.
If you receive a 'Friend Request' from someone you are already friends with you should be able to see that it is an 'Impostor Account' because there will be no history.
I have to admit that I did not have a clue what to do when I found out what had happened and neither did anyone in my family. I'm not surprised that I didn't have a clue as I don't use Facebook very much - I only opened an account because some of my Design Teams use it to communicate. I was however shocked that the rest of my family and some of my close friends did not know what to do because they are logged into Facebook constantly.
If you do ever realise that a friends account has been 'cloned' or 'hacked' you must do the following for them, they will be the last to know what is happening!
- Go to the impostor profile
- Click and select the option to report
- Follow the instructions for an account that's pretending to be someone you know
There is no danger to you as long as you DO NOT accept the friend request.
As soon a my husband and a couple of friends did this the account was removed within minutes.
I'm not an emotional person but I have to say that this episode has really shaken me, I am horrified to know that someone was doing things in my name and I did not know anything about it until I logged onto Facebook - perhaps they chose me because I do not log on every day and therefore they thought they might have a chance to cause some havoc before it was noticed.
I apologise to anyone that was affected by this but I do not see how I could possibly have prevented it, I have checked my security settings and they are OK. It would appear that anyone can set up an account in any name they choose - what I don't understand is how they managed to find my friends!
If you are still here and you didn't already know what to do if this happens to a friend of yours, I hope that you do now - let's shut these fraudsters down as soon as they appear. I hope this never happens to you as I can assure you it is not a pleasant experience.
Thank you for visiting today, I will be back later with a card and a little giveaway.
Pauline
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Thanks for the heads up Pauline, this is actually quite disconcerting. Like you I only have an account for one of my DT's and do not live my life by it as the young people in my household do!! xx
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that you have had this happen to you. I've only recently joined FB myself having resisted because of "bad press" but, like you, there were things going on FB that I wanted access too ...... you have to wonder about the sort of people that do this stuff!! Glad to hear you got the account removed.
ReplyDeleteKathyk
Thank you Pauline for letting us know,
ReplyDeleteHugs Julie xxx
Thanks for the info Pauline, some people are just scummy!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Hazel x
Nightmare!! Thanks for the advice on how to get rid xx
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on how to deal with these things
ReplyDeleteThank you for the info Pauline i know now if this happen's xx
ReplyDeleteHow strange! Sorry you had such a nightmare I'm glad you got it sorted and hope it never happens again!xx
ReplyDeleteThere are some strange people out there Pauline. I have had my e mail account hacked and its so annoying. Thanks for the information hopefully will not have to use it but you never know! Susan x
ReplyDeleteHow horrible for you Pauline. It really makes me feel uneasy when people try and take the identity of others - whether it be for their fun or fraud. I refuse to have a Facebook account and if I miss out on challenges or being able to apply for DT's then so be it. Hope your day improves and I'm looking forward to seeing your card later xx
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for you Pauline. I had no idea anyone could do this either. It is total invasion. Than ks for giving us the instructions for helping to fix this problem.
ReplyDeleteIt is upsetting Pauline and I, like you, really only go into facebook, which I hate, to check on a couple of DT I am on....not my fav passtime either.I appreciate you telling us what to do.xxxx{The Journey is the Start – my personal blog}
ReplyDeleteOh wow this must have really upset you Pauline can't below how low some people can go ..lots of huggles Sue xx
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the advice Pauline. I did not know that this could happen either and it is quite a scary thought isn't it? Thank you for letting us know what to do if this happens….hopefully we can get rid of these nasty fraudsters.
ReplyDeleteSharon
Wow, Pauline, this is scary! So sorry this happened to you. Thanks for letting us know about this and also what to do if we see this happening to someone else. I'm not a big fb user either.
ReplyDeleteBlimey Pauline! I would be upset too. Like you I have a FB account for DT work, and I do not go onto it each day, just now and again. And, no I would have no idea what to do. Thanks for the information. Lets hope that none of us ever need it eh! Judy x
ReplyDeleteAwww it must be upsetting, thanks for sharing what to do. I am always suspicious and check that I am still friends before accepting. Why people fo this I have no idea x
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that this has happened Pauline... I don't know why on earth anyone would do something like this... it must have been really upsetting... I know I would be upset by it! I'm so sorry that I did accidentally accept the Friend request... but then realised straight away that we were already friends. Thank you for the information on what to do if it happens to us. I don't think you can prevent this type of thing unfortunately... it is a sign of the times. I had my bank account hacked into a few years back... I was devastated and they cleaned out my account and I could see they had been spending my money at PC World as it came up on my statement.... I reported it to the Fraud Squad and got my money re-imbursed but it was the principle of it all that they got away with it and I didn't know who had done it. Can't think of a way to prevent it really, so now I transfer my money into savings account as soon as it come in, and just keep small amount in my current account, then at least they can't wipe me out!! Sad times that we live in now.
ReplyDeleteHope you are ok anyway
Sending huge hugs, Sue B xxx
That is no fun news to find out Pauline. You wonder what one expects to gain from this? Hopely it get resolved soon. Hugs, Gina
ReplyDeleteHallo liebe Pauline,
ReplyDeleteDanke für die Info,ich hoffe es bereitet dir nicht allzu große Sorgen,das wäre natürlich nicht schön und ich hoffe das alles wieder in Ordnung kommt,
glg ulrike
Sorry to hear about this Pauline, thank you for letting everyone know what to do in case it happens to us.
ReplyDeleteDonna x
Hi Pauline, how awful for you, thank you for telling us what to do, I can never understand why people do this kind of thing, hugs Kate x
ReplyDeleteThanks Pauline for the information. I don't what people get out of doing this.
ReplyDeleteDeborah A
This is exactly why I will not open a facebook account. Sorry this has happened to you. It is very upsetting that people can do this, Carol Sx
ReplyDeleteThat is a nightmare. I wish you that everything turns out well. Although I am logged into FB, but I'm not working there.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Melodie
Aaaah what a nightmare and sorry to think that some despicable person could have done this to you - i use Facebook, but originally it was to keep in touch with my best mate in OZ, Luv Sam x
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, that is just AWFUL Pauline! I can't believe that someone would do something like this to you - it doesn't make any sense :-( I don't blame you for being so upset: I know I would feel sick to the stomach. Sending you {{hugs}} and glad the fake account was removed.
ReplyDeleteJocelyn x
Instead of Ironing Blogspot
Oh Pauline I am so sorry to hear that this has happened, I did get a friend request and as I thought it was you I accepted, I will go and do something to get rid of it. Like you I am not a constant visitor to FB so was unaware that this was an imposter. I really do not understand why these people do nasty things like this to such lovely people. Take care Lorraine x
ReplyDeleteHi Pauline, I am so sorry this happened to you, I had the same thing a while ago and it made me so upset because of the problems it caused to lots of my "FB Friends". But, at least it was sorted as yours was.
ReplyDeleteHugs Janet xxx
Sorry you had to go through that, but I had a very bad experience on FB some time ago too, and therefore stopped using it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear that this has happened to you, Pauline. I can completely understand that this would have shaken you so I really hope you're okay. Thank you so much for taking the time to warn us about this and pass on your advice - I wouldn't have known what to do in this situation either!
ReplyDeleteHugs to you.
Rebecca.
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