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Hackers use Facebook and other social networking sites to swindle friends
July 2, 2010 (San Diego) – The San Diego FBI office warns that the Internet Crime Complaint Center has received complaints of e-mail or social networking accounts being used in a social engineering scam to swindle consumers out of thousands of dollars.
Here’s how it works: Hackers infiltrate your social networking page, claim to be you, and write your contacts/friends. They portray themselves as “victims” who were robbed while traveling abroad and state they need money immediately because they don’t have a passport, money, credit cards, or cell phone and are stranded.
Some claim they only have a few days to pay their hotel bill and promise to reimburse costs upon their return home. Recipients may be tempted to respond to these appeals because they appear to be from a friend and there’s a sense of urgency to help.
If you receive a similar notice and aren’t sure if it is a scam, you should always verify the information before sending any money. If you have been a victim of this type of scam or any other cyber crime, report it to the IC3 website at www.IC3.gov.
The IC3’s database links complaints for potential referral to the appropriate law enforcement agency for case consideration. Complaint information is also used to identity emerging trends and patterns.
Comments
Overseas scam
Yep happened to me, so I told the writer who used my friends email name but it was hotmail not gmail, and I did not notice at first, but when I caught on i told her I would meet her, and never heard from them again.