{"id":4363,"date":"2019-06-25T19:24:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T18:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/?p=4363"},"modified":"2019-07-06T13:39:39","modified_gmt":"2019-07-06T12:39:39","slug":"facebook-messenger-scams-how-avoid-being-scammed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/facebook-messenger-scams-how-avoid-being-scammed\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook Messenger Scams &#8211; How to Avoid Being Scammed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">It&#8217;s morning. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">My phone is flashing&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">WATCH THE VIDEO INSTEAD<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wDPfZLA3QSU\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><br \/>\nWith a yawn, I pick up the phone to see what&#8217;s been happening whilst I was asleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;It&#8217;s a message!&#8221; I mutter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;It was sent at <em>midnight<\/em>&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;And it&#8217;s from Joan.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4399\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4399\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Message.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4399\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Message.jpg\" alt=\"I received a Facebook message\" width=\"400\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Message.jpg 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Message-300x270.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4399\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I received a Facebook message<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">It looks innocent enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Except that Joan has <em>never<\/em> messaged me before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">The best of the technophobes, she&#8217;s unlikely to decide to learn how to use Facebook Messenger at midnight &#8211; and say&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Hello. How are you doing over there?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">So I ignore it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I know it&#8217;s a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4402\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4402\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Scam-Ignore.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4402\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Scam-Ignore.png\" alt=\"Facebook Scam\" width=\"400\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Scam-Ignore.png 500w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Scam-Ignore-225x300.png 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4402\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It&#8217;s a scam so I ignore it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">After all, I&#8217;d been in conversation with another &#8220;Facebook friend&#8221; a few months previously.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">And back then, I&#8217;d enjoyed winding up a scammer, and I&#8217;d learned a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">But this scammer is persistent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">So I decide to engage in conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4404\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4404\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-messenger-conversation.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4404\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-messenger-conversation.jpg\" alt=\"Facebook messenger conversation\" width=\"500\" height=\"476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-messenger-conversation.jpg 500w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-messenger-conversation-300x286.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4404\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I decide to engage in conversation with the scammer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><br \/>\nHere&#8217;s What We&#8217;re Going to Cover<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">How a Facebook Messenger scam works.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">How to recognise it, so it doesn&#8217;t happen to you.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">What the scammer did.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">How to make it difficult for scammers to clone your Facebook account.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">What to do if you receive a Facebook message from a scammer.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">How The Facebook Messenger Scam Works<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Just in case this ever happens to you&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Before I share the humorous &#8211; and dangerous &#8211; conversation, let me tell you how they do these scams.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">No, they didn&#8217;t hack Joan&#8217;s Facebook account<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">They simply <strong>cloned<\/strong> her Facebook account<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Yes, you read that right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">They made a new account and pretended to be her.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4405\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4405\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Fake-account-on-Facebook.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4405 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Fake-account-on-Facebook.jpg\" alt=\"Facebook scammers pretend to be someone else\" width=\"600\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Fake-account-on-Facebook.jpg 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Fake-account-on-Facebook-300x186.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4405\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Facebook scammers pretend to be someone else. But he&#8217;s absolutely nothing like Joan!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">That&#8217;s what they did&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">They copied Joan&#8217;s details and her profile picture (easily found on Facebook)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Then they created an almost identical Facebook account<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">And started messaging Joan&#8217;s friends<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">How The Scam Goes &#8211; And How To Prevent It Happening to You<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I&#8217;ll give you some tips to help you to avoid being cloned.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4408\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4408\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tips.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4408\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tips.png\" alt=\"Tips coming up\" width=\"500\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tips.png 500w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tips-300x233.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4408\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tips coming up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">But first, let me share the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I ask the scammer where he lives. <\/span><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><em><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">[Just a thought: Why do we always assume it&#8217;s a male?\u00a0 Are ladies too nice to be scammers?]<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I assume that, if it&#8217;s really Joan, she ought to know where she lives!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">But he avoids the question.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4410\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4410\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The-scammer-doesnt-like-my-questions.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4410\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The-scammer-doesnt-like-my-questions.jpg\" alt=\"The scammer doesn't like my questions\" width=\"600\" height=\"388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The-scammer-doesnt-like-my-questions.jpg 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The-scammer-doesnt-like-my-questions-300x194.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4410\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The scammer doesn&#8217;t like my questions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">So I ask again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;I&#8217;m at home,&#8221; he replies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;You&#8217;re not very convincing,&#8221; I retort. &#8220;Where&#8217;s home?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">He begins his spiel, trying to convince me that I&#8217;ve won something valuable.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Not bothered until I know where you live.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">He still doesn&#8217;t answer. But he&#8217;s persistent in telling me about this amazing grant.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">The Scammer Gets Serious<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Then things take an unexpected turn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">He makes a <em>video<\/em> call on Facebook Messenger.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4411\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4411\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/scam-video-call.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4411\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/scam-video-call.png\" alt=\"Now the scammer wants to talk and see me on video\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/scam-video-call.png 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/scam-video-call-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/scam-video-call-300x300.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4411\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Now the scammer wants to talk and see me on video<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Ooh! Danger signals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I cancel the call.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">And I get a little more serious with him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Please don&#8217;t call. Tell me where you live and I might listen to your scam.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I learn that &#8216;Joan&#8217; lives in Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Haha! The real Joan lives thousands of miles away from Australia &#8211; but never mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4412\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4412\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The-scammer-picked-the-wrong-country.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4412\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The-scammer-picked-the-wrong-country.jpg\" alt=\"The scammer picked the wrong country\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The-scammer-picked-the-wrong-country.jpg 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The-scammer-picked-the-wrong-country-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4412\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The scammer picked the wrong country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Now I can have some fun again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Wow! Are you still at 192 Day Street in Sydney?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">&#8220;Yeah. Of Course.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">What I <em>hadn&#8217;t<\/em> told him was that I&#8217;d looked up that address on Google.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">It&#8217;s the location of Sydney Police Station.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4413\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4413\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/He-told-me-he-lives-at-Sydney-Police-Station.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4413\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/He-told-me-he-lives-at-Sydney-Police-Station.png\" alt=\"He told me he lives at Sydney Police Station\" width=\"600\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/He-told-me-he-lives-at-Sydney-Police-Station.png 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/He-told-me-he-lives-at-Sydney-Police-Station-300x205.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4413\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">He told me he lives at Sydney Police Station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Take a look at the end of this screenshot to enjoy the banter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">You&#8217;d have thought, by now, that he&#8217;d have worked out he&#8217;d been sussed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">I&#8217;m enjoying this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">But I didn&#8217;t anticipate the next bit, though&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4366\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-1.jpg\" alt=\"Facebook Messenger Scam - 1\" width=\"600\" height=\"2162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-1-83x300.jpg 83w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-1-284x1024.jpg 284w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">&#8220;Don&#8217;t Be Aggressive!&#8221;<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">The conversation continues with him accusing me of being too aggressive, repeating what I have to do, sending me an infographic&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">And then video calling again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Hmm&#8230; perhaps we need to be a little firmer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">&#8220;Let me explain to you how these things work&#8230;&#8221; I say to the scammer, with tongue in cheek.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4369\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-2.jpg\" alt=\"Facebook Messenger Scam\" width=\"600\" height=\"887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-2-203x300.jpg 203w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">He knows he&#8217;s been sussed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">So he tries a completely different tack.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">He tries to explain how he got involved in the scam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Then he asks me to help him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">And ends up pleading for funds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The time has come to stop the conversation and block the account.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4372\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-5.jpg\" alt=\"Facebook Messenger Scam\" width=\"599\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-5.jpg 599w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Messenger-Scam-5-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">How To Make It Difficult For Scammers To Clone Your Facebook Account<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">You <em>can&#8217;t<\/em> really stop scammers <em>copying<\/em> your Facebook account.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">But you <em>can<\/em> make it so it isn&#8217;t really worth them doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">How do we do that, then?<\/span><\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdavidwithington.com%2Ffacebook-messenger-scams-how-avoid-being-scammed%2F&#038;text=You%20can%27t%20really%20stop%20scammers%20copying%20your%20Facebook%20account.%20But%20you%20can%20make%20it%20so%20it%20isn%27t%20really%20worth%20them%20doing%20so.%20How%3F%20Here%27s%20how%20to%20do%20it.%20%23ScamAware%20&#038;via=thabacus&#038;related=thabacus' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">You can&#039;t really stop scammers copying your Facebook account. But you can make it so it isn&#039;t really worth them doing so. How? Here&#039;s how to do it. #ScamAware  <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdavidwithington.com%2Ffacebook-messenger-scams-how-avoid-being-scammed%2F&#038;text=You%20can%27t%20really%20stop%20scammers%20copying%20your%20Facebook%20account.%20But%20you%20can%20make%20it%20so%20it%20isn%27t%20really%20worth%20them%20doing%20so.%20How%3F%20Here%27s%20how%20to%20do%20it.%20%23ScamAware%20&#038;via=thabacus&#038;related=thabacus' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Well, if they can&#8217;t find your list of friends, they&#8217;ve no one to message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">And if they can&#8217;t see your posts, they&#8217;ll know even less about you and your friends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">So here&#8217;s how to hide these from everyone except your own friends:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color: #808080;\">[This is on a desktop computer or a laptop; it might be slightly different on a mobile phone or tablet]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Following the steps in the picture&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Click the arrow in the top right of the screen and select SETTINGS<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Select PRIVACY<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Click &#8216;Edit&#8217; and change <em>future posts<\/em> and <em>friends<\/em> list to &#8220;FRIENDS&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4378\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4378\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Privacy-Settings.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4378\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Privacy-Settings.jpg\" alt=\"Facebook Privacy Settings\" width=\"700\" height=\"363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Privacy-Settings.jpg 700w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-Privacy-Settings-300x156.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4378\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Facebook Privacy Settings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">What To Do If You Receive a Facebook Message From a Scammer<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">If you ever receive a message from a scammer, how can you know if it&#8217;s a scammer or the real friend?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Type Of Greeting<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">First of all, does your <em>genuine<\/em> friend normally address you in that way?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Joan wouldn&#8217;t have said<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Hello. How are you doing over there?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Not Friends On Facebook<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Secondly, check if you&#8217;re <em>really<\/em> friends on Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">If you haven&#8217;t accepted that person as a friend, it may say something like &#8220;not friends on Facebook&#8221; at the commencement of the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">So then you&#8217;ll know it&#8217;s not your genuine Facebook friend.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4422\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4422\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Check-if-its-your-genuine-friend.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4422\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Check-if-its-your-genuine-friend.jpg\" alt=\"Check if it's your genuine friend\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Check-if-its-your-genuine-friend.jpg 600w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Check-if-its-your-genuine-friend-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Check-if-its-your-genuine-friend-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4422\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Check if it&#8217;s your genuine friend<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Report It To Facebook<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Here&#8217;s how to report that fake profile to Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">First of all, go to the fake account.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">How do I do that, David?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">You could click on the profile picture within the message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Or if you prefer not to, here&#8217;s how to search for the person&#8217;s name:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4387\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4387\" style=\"width: 607px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-find-profile.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4387\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-find-profile.jpg\" alt=\"How to find the Facebook profile\" width=\"607\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-find-profile.jpg 607w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Facebook-find-profile-300x147.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 607px) 100vw, 607px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4387\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">How to find the Facebook profile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Type your friend&#8217;s name into the Facebook search bar and click the magnifying glass<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Select &#8220;People&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The top result is likely to be your genuine friend (it&#8217;ll say &#8220;friends&#8221; next to it<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Click &#8220;more&#8221; at the bottom of the list and keep scrolling until you find the fake profile (you&#8217;ll be able to identify it from the photo)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Open the profile<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4383\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4383\" style=\"width: 344px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Report-Profile.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4383\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Report-Profile.jpg\" alt=\"Report the Facebook Profile\" width=\"344\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Report-Profile.jpg 344w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Report-Profile-300x208.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 344px) 100vw, 344px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4383\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Report the Facebook Profile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Now to report it&#8230;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Click on the 3 dots at the top of the page (see image above)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Click &#8220;Give Feedback or Report this Profile&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Select the most appropriate feedback (see image below)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Click <em>send<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4432\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4432\" style=\"width: 553px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Report-a-Facebook-Fake-Account.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4432\" src=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Report-a-Facebook-Fake-Account.jpg\" alt=\"Report a Facebook Fake Profile\" width=\"553\" height=\"499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Report-a-Facebook-Fake-Account.jpg 553w, https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Report-a-Facebook-Fake-Account-300x271.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4432\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Reporting a Facebook Fake Profile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">I&#8217;ve found that sometimes Facebook will remove the fake account within a few minutes; yet at other times it takes days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">But they will deal with it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Warn Your Friend<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Remember to warn your genuine friend so that they can spread the word and prevent anyone from falling for the scam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">And tell them you&#8217;ve reported it to Facebook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">That&#8217;ll be one less thing for them to worry about.<\/span><\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdavidwithington.com%2Ffacebook-messenger-scams-how-avoid-being-scammed%2F&#038;text=Here%27s%20a%20great%20guide%20on%20how%20to%20identify%20fake%20messages%20on%20Facebook%20Messenger%2C%20and%20how%20to%20deal%20with%20them.%20%23ScamAlert%20&#038;via=thabacus&#038;related=thabacus' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here&#039;s a great guide on how to identify fake messages on Facebook Messenger, and how to deal with them. #ScamAlert  <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdavidwithington.com%2Ffacebook-messenger-scams-how-avoid-being-scammed%2F&#038;text=Here%27s%20a%20great%20guide%20on%20how%20to%20identify%20fake%20messages%20on%20Facebook%20Messenger%2C%20and%20how%20to%20deal%20with%20them.%20%23ScamAlert%20&#038;via=thabacus&#038;related=thabacus' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\">The Telephone Computer Scam<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Here&#8217;s another scam that&#8217;s been doing the rounds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">A scammer will telephone you and try to persuade you to give them access to your computer or get you to install a trojan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Make sure you don&#8217;t fall for this scam, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">You can hear the conversation and read about the tricks here: <a href=\"http:\/\/davidwithington.com\/how-deal-with-phone-scammers\/\" rel=\"\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>How To Deal With Phone Scammers<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s morning. My phone is flashing&#8230; WATCH THE VIDEO INSTEAD With a yawn, I pick up the phone to see what&#8217;s been happening whilst I was asleep. &#8220;It&#8217;s a message!&#8221; I mutter. &#8220;It was sent at midnight&#8230; &#8220;And it&#8217;s from Joan.&#8221; It looks innocent enough. Except that Joan has never messaged me before. The best [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[99,3,289],"tags":[170,428,422],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Facebook Messenger Scams - How to Avoid Being Scammed - David Withington<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You receive a Facebook message from your friend. But something doesn&#039;t seem quite right. Some insights in how to avoid being scammed on Facebook Messenger.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/facebook-messenger-scams-how-avoid-being-scammed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Facebook Messenger Scams - How to Avoid Being Scammed - David Withington\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You receive a Facebook message from your friend. But something doesn&#039;t seem quite right. 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