Facebook fraudsters cloning users’ profiles to steal money from their friends

Scammers go as far as copying the statuses used by legitimate users to make clone profiles look legitimate

There are all kinds of scams on Facebook ranging from spreading fake news to hacking into your account to take control of it until you pay them off.

Fraudsters cloning your Facebook profiles to fool your friends and family in order to mint from money is the latest addition to the list of scams.

How they do it?

Facebook scammers use the ‘cloning’ process which entails creating a new account using the existing user name, copying personal information and profile and cover photos included on the original profile. In order to make the profile look convincingly genuine, the fraudsters even go as far as copying the statuses used by the legitimate user.



Following that scammers confidently approach friends and family members of the original user, who may be deceived to simply accept a friend request from the clone account without noticing the scam. They may also share private information with them, depending on how good they are at imitating you online.



The first step to avoid this is to make sure your account’s privacy settings hide your personal details from users you don’t know. If indeed you come across an account that replicates details of a known user, simply report that account to Facebook.

One thing is for certain, this scam is a step up from the notorious advance-fee scam, in which scammers claim to ask for money over email in a promise of a much larger reward.

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