Q&A: fake friends on Facebook

By J.D. Biersdorfer New York Times | Updated: 5 June 2012 02:17 IST

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Highlights

Q.
Facebook keeps sending me e-mail messages to notifying me of comments and photos posted to my wall, but the alerts are not coming to the e-mail account I use with Facebook. Is someone impersonating me?

Q.

Facebook keeps sending me e-mail messages to notifying me of comments and photos posted to my wall, but the alerts are not coming to the e-mail account I use with Facebook. Is someone impersonating me?

A.

Impersonation on Facebook is a possibility. But unless you clicked a confirmation link at one point to acknowledge that you set up a Facebook account linked to that e-mail address, it is more likely that you are getting fraudulent Facebook messages. (If you received no confirmation message and someone is trying to use your address to set up a Facebook account, that account will only be active for a short time because Facebook deactivates unconfirmed accounts after three days.)

The spoofed messages, which are intended to look exactly like Facebook's own notifications, often contain links to spam sites or malware that is activated when you click a link or an attachment. Some could also be phishing efforts to get you to type in your Facebook password so your account can be hijacked.

Facebook has a fairly extensive list of scams and threats on its site, which can be found by clicking the Threats link at www.facebook.com/security. The page also has links to other resources, like how to report account abuse.

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Further reading: Facebook, Impersonation, www.facebook.com/security

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Q&A: fake friends on Facebook

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