Status updates. Bumper stickers. Facebook creeping. All of these words have worked their way into many people's vocabulary. Facebook has become part of our everyday life. Everyone from students to professors to parents and even some family pets have Facebook profiles. Facebook celebrated its fifth birthday on Feb. 4, and in a note Facebook wrote they said they had more the 150 million users.
With so many users, there are bound to be a couple of problems of profiles with falsified information. Facebook imposters have been a growing problem. Many people have had their Facebook accounts hacked into. At the end of my senior year my Facebook got hacked into, with a post on over 60 random people's walls about where to by pot in my hometown. I deleted the Facebook profile along with the e-mail that was attached to it. My friend's facebook also got hacked into. She had a post with a link and a message like "Did you know your photo is on this Web site?" When you clicked on the link it sent a virus over your computer.
Although those kinds of hacks can be dangerous they are somewhat small scale and easy to fix. Lately, the problems with hacking have been getting bigger and with more severe consequences. An article appeared on CNN with this story: Without his input, Bryan Rutberg's Facebook status update - the way friends track each other - suddenly changed on Jan. 21 to this frightening alert: "Bryan NEEDS HELP URGENTLY!!!"
His online friends saw the message and came to his aid. Some posted concerned messages on his public profile - "What's happening????? What do you need?" one wrote. Another friend, Beny Rubinstein, got a direct message saying Rutberg had been robbed at gunpoint in London and needed money to get back. So, trying to be a good friend, Rubinstein wired $1,143 to London in two installments, according to police in Bellevue, Wash. Meanwhile, Rutberg was safe at home in Seattle. Rubinstein told CNN he misses the money, but it's perhaps more upsetting to feel tricked by someone who impersonated his friend on Facebook, a social-networking site where millions of friends converse freely online.
When I first heard this story I wasn't completely convinced. I wondered why Rubinstein didn't try to call Rutberg or family and find out what was going on. Another case, however, showed how easy it is convince people to help you. MSNBC shared a story of a woman who actually called and checked with the victim. "I had no knowledge what was going on," Carolyn Fuller said. "Apparently the person who hacked it was sending internal messages to my Facebook friends." Laura Neelon received one of those fake messages from Fuller. "She said, 'I really need your help,'" Neelon said. "There's a status, it said, 'Carolyn Fuller needs help urgently.'"
"It said we were robbed at gunpoint in this small town in England and we have no money and couldn't check out of the hotel because our credit cards were stolen and please send $850 via Western Union," Fuller said. Neelon said she admits the message appeared legitimate. "It really did," she said. "Whoever this person was in her account knew her husband's name." "They knew my children's names, my dog's name," Fuller said. "It's really frightening."
CNN.com also offered this information: There are primarily two ways to stay safe on Facebook, said Jim Lewis, director of the technology and policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. First, make sure your computer anti-virus programs are up to date; and tell online companies you want better privacy protection, he said.
In a statement, Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt told CNN that impersonation schemes affect fewer than 1 percent of Facebook's 150 million users. He would not comment on whether the rate of such incidents is increasing, but said any increase in the total number of impersonations could be due to the fact that the site is growing by 600,000 users per day.
Facebook offers these tips to help keep yourself safe:
• Be suspicious of anyone - even friends - who ask for money over the Internet. Verify their circumstances independently, either by calling them directly, or checking with mutual friends.
• Choose a strong password and use unique credentials for each of your Web accounts. Facebook says hackers tap into one site and
then try to reuse passwords on others.
• Use an up-to-date browser that features an anti-phishing blacklist.
• Use and run anti-virus software on your computer.
• Reset your Facebook password if you suspect your account has been compromised.
• Have more than one contact e-mail address. This will help if one of them is hacked.
Although Facebook imposters are definitely something to keep in mind, don't let them scare you off of the Web site. Use the tips Facebook shared as a guideline, and don't put personal information on your profile. Follow your gut feeling, and don't hesitate to double check or question someone or something that doesn't seem right. Other than that, happy Facebooking!
