Apparently it has become popular for spammers and people wanting to sell things or to spread viruses to set up fake Facebook profiles. They go to your page, snitch a few photos, and voila "they" appear to be "you." Call it "social network identity theft." The goal of the hackers runs the gamut from the fairly innocent to the horrifyingly scary. They may simply send weird notes to your friends or post inappropriate statuses, or they may use your name and face to get others to click on a site so they can try to sell something or show lewd photos. Worse yet, they may use this ploy to spread computer viruses to anyone that clicks a link the fake you recommends.
Imagine my surprise this morning when I logged on to Facebook and began scrolling down to see what kind of day everyone was having so far only to find I had "liked" several inappropriate videos and "said" things I would never say! Goodness - I get in enough trouble for things I actually do say without having some scoundrel put words in my mouth! But there they were, right alongside my smiling face as if I had written them (or recommended them). I'm sure there is a sermon in here somewhere; or if not, a great sermon illustration.
Oh well, what's a person to do? I suppose I could delete my Facebook account and not have to worry about it happening again. I'm sure some would say I deserve what happened for being a part of the social networking world and for having the information out there to begin with. No... I don't plan to let the bad guys win. I've beefed up the security on my account and changed my password. I also changed my profile photo and I plan to do these things more frequently in the future; that way if someone wants to use their fake Facebook account they're going to have to work to keep up with me.
I'd love to hear from you if you've had a similar experience. If not; beware... the bad guys are out there and someday you may find yourself responding to someone by saying, "I said what?"
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