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Facebook 'Friend' Emergency Latest Online Scam
Cybercriminals hijack Facebook accounts to pose as friends in crisis
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Feb 6, 09 5:33 AM CST
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(Newser)
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Fraudsters posing as friends who need emergency cash are scamming Facebook users out of thousands of dollars, CNN reports. Criminals filch Facebook identities, then bombard their friends with desperate-sounding messages pleading for money. The scammers often claim to have been robbed in a foreign country and beg the friend to help out with an immediate wire transfer to a hotel address.
"It's an invasion of your whole privacy, who your friends are," said one man who wired $1,000 to London to help a "friend" who had supposedly been robbed at gunpoint—only to discover later he was safe at home. Facebook urges users to keep passwords secure and be wary of anyone—even friends—asking for cash.