Your Facebook Hasn't Been Hacked Or Cloned This Time (HOAX)
Of course we all know that security online is a major issue in 2018 as it has been since the inception of the internet. The only difference is the wealth of information and it's value, that has changed the motivations of the good guys and the bad guys. Over the past 4 or 5 years, there's been a pretty solid scam running which uses the method of cloning your facebook account and pretending to be you. This is typically done to gather information on you, your friends and more in order to create a false trust so that more information is given. Information is the worlds hottest commodity at this time. If I can get you to divulge just enough personal information through phishing scams I can pretend to be you and use that to an advantage. Via facebook I'm sure we've all seen the messages about "New Friend Request" that weren't actually sent out from those friends, and the great majority of us ignore those as we should. In this case we're going to delve a little further into some key points concerning the topic.
As stated in the itnow.com article:
Profile clones can serve a number of purposes:
Data mining – Even if you have your profile security set to “Friends Only,” if you accept a friend request from a cloned profile, your data is exposed.
Scams – By gaining access to your friends, the cloned profile can target the people who know and trust you with a scam designed to get money from them. A story about being stranded on vacation (bonus points for being out of the country), needing legal assistance, or being seriously ill can be accompanied by a request for money. They may even share a GoFundMe link and claim personal knowledge of a person with life threatening illness or similar tragedy — and encourage friends to help out. Since you will see that your friend has vouched for the financial hardship, you will be much more likely to give.
Spam/Phishing schemes – You’ve seen the ads on profiles about cheap Oakley sunglasses. A cloned profile can spread these kinds of ads, which are usually filled with malicious links.
It is important to remember that just because your account has been cloned does not mean that you have been hacked. Of course I always recommend changing your password to something complex at least every 90 days, I myself change every 30 days. These are simple ways to protect oneself and your information in a world where data is a commodity to be pillaged sold and stolen. Also this time around it is a hoax likely perpetuated through the usual chain letters or messages and spread easily. Many IT Security experts are testing at this time throughout their network and social group to see how easily this can be spread. Put quite simply it is best to delete the message, change password if you feel uncomfortable. YOU ARE SAFE, BUT STAY VIGILANT!#secnetlab