This morning, I received a chat message from one of my Facebook friends claiming that he and his family were stranded in London after being robbed at gunpoint. The scammer claimed that he needed me to "loan him a few cash" in order to pay for his hotel bill and a cab to the airport so he could get home.
Unfortunately for him, I was already aware of this fairly common ruse. In fact, he wasn't the first FB friend to have his account hacked by this same scam. If I had to guess, I'd say he had a password that was easy to figure out.
When I asked him to verify his identity, he of course only provided information that was readily available in his profile. When I countered by asking how we knew each other, he immediately logged out.
Protect yourself by creating a hard-to-guess password and keeping some information about yourself out of your online profiles. If you are approached by a "friend" in need of help, always verify their identity.
Be vigilant.
