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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Security for social media isn’t just about monitoring for misinformation. Hackers hijack personal pages to scam money.
The professional photographer with a keen eye for detail, Jay Davis says an unknown Facebook hack got blurred in his daily routine.
“I was sitting here working online and somebody was apparently in my Facebook and I didn’t even know it, that’s the scary part,” said Davis.
Scammers used his page for phony posts to steal money but friends sent messages instead.
“Someone sent me one that said ‘are you doing a fundraiser next week for X Y or Z?’ And I went no. So I went into my email and saw Facebook said ‘had you changed your password?’” said Davis.
Fortunately, no reports of anyone losing money. After Facebook friends alerted Jay his page had been hacked, he contacted Facebook, and within seconds all those posts by scammers trying to fool his friends into sending money disappeared.
Scammers also send friend requests from someone you don’t know and not long ago, Facebook added to posts warning that scams often begin as messages from strangers.
“We have some software that says do you know this person? Here are tips you may want to proactively think about. We are only getting better by people like your viewers reporting the problems and changing your passwords as frequently as possible,” said Robert Traynham, Meta Facebook Spokesman.
The hack was discovered with a little help from his friends.
“If a couple people hadn’t sent messages to me, I never would have known someone hacked my account,” said Davis.
The architectural photographer is focused on changing passwords for all his social media accounts.
The Meta spokesperson won’t reveal if Facebook tracks down scams and if law enforcement is involved. But the best line of defense is common sense.
Decline friend requests from strangers and don’t click on links for any offers that may end up costing you money.
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