What is Facebook Cloning and How Can I Protect Myself From It? Facebook Cloning Explained. Facebook cloning describes a technique in which scammers create a fake Facebook profile by using images and other information stolen from a targeted user’s real Facebook profile. The scammers may be able to create a profile that – at least at first glance – looks very much like the target’s genuine profile. Especially if the victim has all or some of his or her profile material set to “public”. First, let me make clear that Facebook cloning is NOT “hacking” as claimed in some circulating security warnings. The scammers have not gained access to the victim’s real Facebook account or tricked the user into divulging his or her login details. They have simply copied publicly available information and images and used them to create a new profile. Why would scammers do this? Once the scammers have created a fake profile, they can send friend requests to people on the targeted person’s friends list. At least a few of the victim’s friends may accept this second friend request because they mistakenly believe that the victim has accidentally unfriended them. Tech news and expert opinion from The Telegraph's technology team. Read articles and watch video on the tech giants and innovative startups. How to Report Someone on Facebook. Facebook is a social media website where you can connect with people from different areas of your life. Occasionally, however, you. Hey rahul someone has hacked my friends account on facebook. Or, people with a large number of Facebook friends may have forgotten that they were already friends with the victim and accept the second friend request. And, regrettably, some Facebook users tend to immediately accept friend requests without due forethought. Once the scammers have a few “friends” on the fake profile, they can then start sending scam messages in the name of their victim. They may try to draw the friends into advance fee scams claiming that the victim has won a large sum of money and offering the “friend” the chance to also win. But that goofy photo is a complete photoshop job and needs to be called out as such, much like the fake photos of Steve Bannon that have been doing the rounds. Facebook Cloning Explained Facebook cloning describes a technique in which scammers create a fake Facebook profile by using images and other information. Learn how to Hack Facebook with the easiest Facebook Hacker in the world. They may send messages that claim the victim has been stranded in a foreign country and needs a short- term loan to get out of trouble. Because the recipients of the message think they are talking to someone they know, they may agree to “loan” the money. The scammers may also use the illusion of friendship to collect personal information from the victim’s friends. A clever cloner may even be able to commit identity theft by tricking the victim’s friends into divulging a large amount of their personal and financial information. How To Protect Your Facebook Account From Cloning. It is difficult to entirely eliminate the risk of having your Facebook account cloned. However, you can significantly mitigate this risk by ensuring that you use privacy settings that hide as much of your information as possible from strangers. The more of your stuff that is publicly available, the more effective a profile cloning attempt will likely be. Unfortunately, many Facebook users still have much of their information set to “Public”. These comparatively open accounts are easy targets for cloning scammers. Here’s what to do to change that. If you are using Facebook on a mobile device or via an app, you may need to use a different method to access your privacy and friends list settings. If the clone scammers cannot see who you are friends with, they will not be able to send out fake invites to your friends. So, hiding your friends list can help to thwart clone scammers. Then, click the pencil icon on the right side and click “Edit Privacy”: In the “Who can see your friends list?” section, select “Only me” in the drop down list: Run A “Privacy Checkup”If you click the “Lock” icon at the top right of your Facebook profile, you can perform a quick privacy checkup related to your posts, apps, and, profile. To do this, click the “Lock” icon again then click “Who can see my stuff”. Now, click the “View As” link under “What do other people see on my timeline?”: You should now see your Facebook timeline as a member of the public – or a Facebook clone scammer – will see it. Check your “Friends” and “Photos” tabs and other elements to see what is visible to strangers. Facebook won’t allow you to hide your current Profile and Cover Photos. They are public by default and there is not much you can do about it. As noted, Facebook won’t allow you to hide your current Profile and Cover Photos. Some types of album will have an audience selector that allows you to set all of the images in the album to “Friends” or “Only Me” in one click: For other albums, such as “Profile Pictures” and “Timeline Photos” you may need to select the audience for each image individually. So, click the “More” tab and, wherever possible, ensure that the material in each section is not set to public. You can also hide sections completely by clicking the More tab and selecting “Manage Sections”: Dig into Your Privacy Settings. You can also check and change privacy related settings via the “Privacy Settings and Tools” section. Click the drop- down arrow to the right of the lock icon and click “Settings”. Then click “Privacy” in the left menu. All being well, your account will now be locked down pretty tight. Warn them not to accept any friend requests that look like they came from you. What to do if You Receive a Friend Request That You Suspect is from A Clone Scammer. Be wary of any friend requests from people that you are already friends with. If you receive one, check your own friends list to see if you are still freinds with the person. If so, the friend request is likely to be from a cloned account. Alert your friend to the scam as soon as possible so that he or she can take steps to deal with the issue. In the early stages, your friend may not be aware that his or her account has been cloned. Help Educate Your Friends. If every Facebook user was aware of how cloning scams work and how to protect themselves, the prevalence and impact of cloning would be greatly diminished or even eliminated. Sadly, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Nevertheless, you can certainly help by ensuring that your friends know about cloning. If necessary, take the time to explain the issue and help them with their Facebook settings. Sending them a link to this Knowledge Guide might be a great first step. What is Facebook Cloning and How Can I Protect Myself From It? Someone Hacked My Facebook - What to Do If Someone Hacks Your Account. You're not in Amsterdam, right? It wasn't the typical Wednesday morning email, sent from a friend who I'd seen the night before. According to my Gmail account, however, I'd scooted off to Europe sometime after midnight, lost my passport and reached out to every contact in my address book asking for money. Yep, I'd been hacked. Next came an hour of frantic Googling, a panicked tweet (. Had I been better informed, I would've kept calm and followed these nine post- hacking steps. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Pinpoint the problem. The most obvious sign of hacking is the slew of messages you'll receive from acquaintances either stating that your account's been hacked or wondering if they should really wire money overseas. Also, according to Kevin Beaver, an Atlanta- based independent computer security expert and author of Hacking for Dummies, . Or your computer and/or Internet might start running slowly. Change your password. If someone's simply poached your password, resetting it should solve your problem. Andrea Freund, a spokeswoman for Gmail, advises getting creative when choosing your new login. For example, Gmail can send a link to your phone or a separate email address to help you regain access. For more on taking back your account, check Gmail's recovery page or Facebook's Help Center. Run an antivirus scan. Though a sabotaged outbox is devastating enough, Bhavani Thuraisingham, Ph. D, a professor of computer science and executive director of the Cyber Security Research and Education Center at the University of Texas at Dallas, says, . If one scan doesn't catch a virus, another might. Some of Beaver's favorite scans: Webroot, which offers a free trial, as well as Avast and Malwarebytes, which offer free versions indefinitely. Even if you're just the victim of password cracking, run a scan to be safe. And if your scan picks up a virus, change your password again. Check your settings. Find settings under a drop- down menu in the upper right corner when you're logged into your email. Reach out to your contacts. While a hacking can leave you feeling like a social pariah—especially if you've unknowingly blasted your contacts with a seedy ad or asked for cash—say something. Daniel Post Senning, author of Emily Post's Manners in a Digital World, suggests sending a straightforward informational email, as you'll probably be sending it to a mixed audience of colleagues, family and friends. Rethink passwords to other accounts. Do you have one go- to password for everything from Twitter to online banking? If so, change each of those logins. This time, choose something unique for each account. Even if you've been diligent about varying your passphrases, reset them anyway. Thuraisingham, . Alert your service provider. You may not hear back, . Plus, as Senning says, it's part of being . Yahoo users should go to . For Facebook, the help center is your chief resource. Update your software. It's so easy to click . Updating is critical because . Beef up your security. If you use Gmail, Freund recommends setting up two- step verification. Facebook has a similar feature called login approvals. Another smart move: . As for exacting revenge on a nemesis that's wreaked havoc on your social media mojo, play it cool.
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