Feb 11, 2009 10:15 am US/Eastern
Hacker Uses Stolen Facebook ID To Scam Friend List
Colorado Woman Discovers People Linked From Her Page Now Victims Of Fraud
ERIE, Colorado (CBS) ―
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Donna Lu Gamberg's Facebook page became a tool for fraud when someone hacked in and scammed her linked friends through the site's tools.
CBS
Facebook connects friends all over the world, but now hackers are using the popular Web site to scam members.
Reports have come in from across the country about people having their Facebook pages hijacked, reports CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver. A case in Colorado is illustrating a new danger involving online fraud.
Donna Lu Gamberg of Colorado says she initially resisted joining the Facebook social network, she told KCNC.
The online service is run by a private company but charges its users nothing to post and share information about themselves on the Web. Tools on the site allow people to find and network with people sharing similar friends, past and current jobs, schools or home neighborhoods.
"I had so many friends that sent me the e-mail saying we want to add you as a friend, and for a year I just would delete it," she said.
She eventually caved in and began to add her own friends. Like most of Facebook's 150 million users, she shared personal information about herself.
"There is a lot of info on there and, when you think it's just your friends, you feel comfortable with that," she said.
During the weekend, Gamberg received a phone call from a Facebook friend from out of state.
"She's said 'Donna Lu, please call me as soon as you get this message. Somebody is ... I'm chatting with you and it sounds like you need help, and so I'm very worried,'" she said.
Someone had hacked into Gamberg's Facebook account and had started chatting.
Her poser wrote "I'm in London. I've been robbed. Send money."
Gamberg called her friend and together they logged onto Facebook. The message from the poser was cleared by the time they were logged back in.
"So she sent a message to me saying 'Are you still there?'"
Gamberg didn't respond. She and her friend just waited.
"And then all of a sudden we both saw it -- it popped up under my name and it said, 'Yeah I'm still here. What's going on?' I mean it gave me chills."
Gamberg reported the incident to Facebook and Facebook responded by e-mail stating the company would investigate.
"It was a creepy feeling, and that's the first time that kind of incident happened to me," she said.
Gamberg says she plans to report the case to the FBI and the Better Business Bureau. She has also changed her computer passwords and changed her online status so no one knows when she is logged on.
She has even considered closing her Facebook account.
Facebook stresses users to not click any strange links, even if they are sent by friends.
Here are some other ways to stay safe on social network sites:
- Always attempt to call or send an e-mail to confirm a situation before wiring money.
- If you are not sure whether or not the person you are interacting with digitally is truly the person they say they are, try asking a question to which only your friend would only know the answer.
- Make sure your computer's antivirus and firewall software is up to date.
- Change your account's privacy settings to match your comfort level of risk.
- Do not share personal information which could be used to identify you or locate you offline, such as your address or telephone number.
Facebook offers more safety tips and tools on its site at
facebook.com/safety.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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