Warning about Facebook friend requests from people you don't know
Frankcoins
Posts: 4,571 ✭✭✭
Received a friend request on Facebook from Chuck Woodard Versace of El Paso, TX. I noticed he is already following my posts and those of several other US coin dealers (which is why I am posting this here) . While there is a handsome white man on the main Facebook page (LEFT) the album photos are of this guy (RIGHT) and most of the favorites are in Lagos, Nigeria. This is most likely a stolen account and person pictured is almost certainly a victim of an account hijacking. A scammer would not have left all the pictures of himself on the account. Facebook limits the activity of new accounts and requires several levels of verification, so scammers prefer to steal an existing account, change the user name, information, and user photo. Best advice is do not respond to friend requests from people you don't know, but if you do, at least look at the visible parts of their profile first to see if there is some reason (hobbies, work, school, location, interests) they want to make you a friend.
You might be surprised to see unknown people following YOU on Facebook. Go to your own FRIENDS list expand MORE and look at FOLLOWERS. Any unwanted followers, click on their name to show their profile, then on the three dots next to MESSAGE and then BLOCK (These instructions for desktop/laptop computers, mobile devices vary -- and I refuse to carry around a tracking device...)
Comments
We get texts and phone calls from people we don't know all the time. Block number, delete message.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
Frank, an easier way is you choose your FB settings, click on 'blocked', enter 'following me' in the box and then delete them all as they appear. Spooky how many there can be.
The prince seems to have fallen on hard times.
I don't do face book anymore.
Dont do facebook. If you want to talk to me give me a call
HAPPY COLLECTING
Just checked... no one following....put on a rear view mirror on my glasses as well...
Cheers, RickO
Just checked, no followers. Then I noticed that I have enabled the do not allow followers option.
bob
Good info....but ya know, with that shirt the guy on the right could be a coin dealer.
K
I also have never done Facebook.
I had Facebook when it was new (maybe around 2005). Dropped it as soon as people I had no clue who they were tried friending me.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
Havnt, don’t and won’t do Facebook
i got rid of facebook a while ago and still get what you described. i just move on with it
Never done FB and never will. Total waste of time for me.
No Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and all the other social carp.
Yet, I understand that there are sound business reasons for having an account. Glad Frank is watching out for the rest of us.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
what can they do to you if they follow you on facebook but live in Nigeria with their uncle the finance minister trying to get $300 million in gold bullion out of the country?
does facebook have a live tracking function that shows your location?
Just sat NO to drugs and Faceplant.
I wish I could agree more than once!
The best advice is to just stay off of Facebook! I don't go on there at all anymore and enjoy life much more without it and if someone needs to get a hold of me, they can go into my page and find someone that knows me if they are not a friend already and get my phone number from just about any one of my friends or family on there. Life for me is much nicer without going into Facebook and to hear other people's problems and drama.
Don't have "face" nor time for Facebook. I don't have the inferior complex to have strangers follow me around like a reality show's. My mother used to say "consider yourself lucky if you can count your friends with 10 fingers"
Facebook is great...if "great" means hearing from people you knew in the past who are now insurance salesman or financial planners...haven't heard from any land salesman yet. LOL
People still do that?
I was thinking the same thing.
How are you sure this is not legitimate?
I croaked my facebook account back in 2013 and don't miss it a farging bit.
My Twitter feed is like a huge, customized and continually updated magazine.
Too many space telescopes, archeology finds and digs, science music and art projects to keep up with through the, ahem, news networks.
Instagram keeps the far flung grandkids faces fresh.
No FB as of 2017.
I'm hoping to cash in when I sell my interview as the last man on the planet without a Facebook.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
I get a couple fake requests a week...just got another this morning. Most of the time they have it listed as a man yet have photos and videos of women. Clearly hoping that I am so desperate that I will fall for whatever scam they are trying to run.
I stopped enjoying Facebook a long time ago but it's the only place I have any contact with some family members. Also, I can't get people to look at my photography website but I do get views and comments on there. If nothing else I use it as a free photo backup for my car show and nature photography.
FB has been a good investment but as a social networking site , there are mostly anti- social misfits, goody-two- shoes ,dogs, cats, kids, horses and hypocrites. Nobody in my circle even likes coins. Show me the coins not the geeks.
Posting on FB is equivalent to testifying against yourself. Digital friends are for those with no real friends.
Gold has a world price entirely unaffected by accounting games between the Treasury and the Fed. - Jim Rickards
During conversations with other parents about social media I will sometime ask 'Would you provide me with a sheet of paper with your child's name, date of birth, school they go to, car they drive, places they like to frequent, friends they hang out with, etc. so I can hand them out on the street corner to strangers and get paid a nickel apiece?' Of course they all say 'No way...that would be inviting trouble and is creepy.'. But...they also let their kids have plenty of un-monitored social media accounts that aggregate the same information to sell at will or let 'friends' see.
Social media can be a good thing but once it gets corporatized, ie to the point of gathering and selling more and more of your personal info it kind of crosses the line. I used to work for a company that performed consumer data analysis for major companies and it is unbelievable what data is bought and sold...and a lot of it from your friendly local and state government. It can be all tied together by one key or another.
K
I don't FB but to say those I know who do don't have friends would be ignorant of me.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Only non-hobby (either numismatics or music) social media I do is LinkedIn ... and I'm past really wanting or needing a job (I know, good place to be in). And even there, most people who send me friend requests it look like just want to sell me something. I check folk's profiles ... if it looks like they are numismatists, I accept. Otherwise, nyet!
Kind regards,
George
Facebook is great, but I NEVER POST ANYTHING related to numismatics. EVER! Only a couple of my closest friends even know I collect coins. I don’t need to inform the entire world via Facebook.
Dave
After I sold my business the new owners were sued (frivolously, but sued nonetheless) for something that occurred under their watch. I was deposed for background reasons.
The amount of social media postings plaintiff's attorney dug up on them, and entered into the court record, was staggering. I'll never understand why people do this to themselves.
Lance.
Most of the grouchier responses on this thread are what I expected from here. Facebook isn't mandatory but sheesh, all social media isn't bad. I can only imagine if your great-grandparents or grandparents were the same way - "This new thing called the radio, total waste of time", "Television, so stupid. I'm not watching" or "This thing called the telephone??? I'm just gonna walk 40 miles and talk to them face to face! Phoning is for wimps, I want to show how hard I work!"
Social media used sensibly is a good thing. I did have quite a few "followers" too, but it wasn't that hard to ignore, block or delete them. You think fake followers, friends or ads never existed before current social media?
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
The guy on the left looks like Will Estes from Blue Bloods.
I love the people who post their vacation plans in advance, or vacation photos real time.
Might as well leave all your valuables on the front lawn so the crooks won't have to break anything to get at them.
A lot of negativity directed at Face Book in this thread. I wonder if this reflects the dominate demographics of our hobby, (old men) which would probably describe me.
Many in this demographic are proud that they do not use a computer or the Internet, and they therefore do not expose themselves to a potential privacy compromise. Others, like anyone who is able to read this, accept the potential privacy compromise, but feel it is worth it for the information and entertainment obtained. Common sense, can limit potential exposure of personal data. Use of eBay, PayPal, and even this board, (which is part of social media), can be risk factors, if not used wisely.
I absolutely respect those who know they cannot protect their privacy if they use certain facets of the Internet like the often abused FB; they have made a very wise decision for themselves.
I also respect those who avoid computers altogether, because they know they would be unable to protect their privacy.
I am actually looking for a social media consultant.
So if any of you (young) people want to help a social media novice create a program with insanely cool content (great for your portfolio) for my nature photograph business, please contact me. Probably will also want to do social media for the coin site as well, but the photo site would come first. Willing to Pay in hard cold CASH or Pay in one more Major Error Coins!!!
Today. I just completely redid my photo website which came out super cool. Check it out, viewed best on a computer, may take time to load because of high end content.
Check it out ..... ctfphoto.com
Update: Talked with someone today for an hour about SEO. Guess I have to do this first.
You may have competition from me.
No Facebook.
I don't understand the appeal.
I don't do FB. I don't need to involved with all that stuff.
I ain't that popular, and don't want to be that popular anyway.
Pete
I deleted my facebook over a year ago. I was sick of the constant political BS. I don't miss it one bit!
This is my happy place.
My YouTube Channel
two of the founders of facebook won't let their friends or family use it. what does this say about facebook!
I know FB can help you reconnect (sometimes that is trouble
) but I also know of many situations where relationships are ruined because of FB.
I might be inclined to have a better opinion of it except that I have come to the conclusion that so much of what is on the Internet is just a ploy to get me to spend money, or at least to make money off of me indirectly.
There are marketing systems for selling coins, I don't see how promoting on FB would be all that successful anyway, though a local dealer is able to squeeze more $$ out of ebay through social media sites like FB as his daughter is promoting his stuff there. I read that old rubberface Jim Carrey was urging people to pull out of anything connected to FB.