With most of us using Facebook these days, hackers and attackers are tricking people everyday into giving up their usernames and passwords by sending fake Friend requests. On February 8, 2016, to help educate our followers, we posted this example from one of our real Friends. Thanks again Louise.
75 of our followers responded and 35% of them would do the right thing and check Facebook to see if they were “de-friended”. However 15% of them would waste their time and call Facebook to check for validity. Although still a better decision than the composite 15% that would actually take action on the email. Here are the results and our suggestion to our followers:
Well the easiest thing to do would be delete it and move on with your day however it’s from your absolute BFF (or at least you thought you were BFFs) so you just gotta know if she dumped you and why. In case it is your BFF, open a web browser, login to your Facebook and check your Friends list. If she’s there then you know it was a fake.
Another way is to be aware of what a real request looks like. Facebook (and most others) are pretty good at giving you a little info to spot a Friend. Take a look at these differences:
Notice the legit has a picture of the person and a little info on their Facebook profile.
Sometimes just slowing down and paying attention to subtle nuances that you typically take for granted can save you and the company you work from a bunch of downtime and lost money.
One further note: only use social media at work if your employer explicitly permits it. In many situations your office computer use is not private and could be being monitored.
Tip: if ever in doubt do not click a link in an email and always be suspicious before clicking. If you are ever in doubt call for support @ 513.563.3533
Thanks and be safe.
Jim and Dave
As always just be aware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sadly not everything is as it seems these days.
Compute Safely
