Got Another Facebook Friend Request from You Message: Fact Check

Story:

Hi….I actually got another friend request from you yesterday…which I ignored so you may want to check your account. Hold your finger on the message until the forward button appears…then hit forward and all the people you want to forward too….I had to do the people individually. Good Luck!

Fact Check:

The private message on Facebook, appearing to come from a friend, says he got another Facebook friend request from you. It asks you to check your account (whether compromised) and also to forward the message to everyone you want to. The chain message is in fact doing rounds from inbox to inbox on Facebook, and made recipients think their account has been hacked or cloned. Despite the warning, the message about another Facebook friend request is just a hoax and is explained below.

Illustrative image about Facebook Cloning

About Facebook Cloning Scam

Facebook cloning is a scam where fraudsters steal your profile picture and other social information and use it to create a new Facebook profile on your name. They use the cloned accounts to connect with your friends and target them in some way. They can collect their personal information, send scam messages, or even collect money in your name. Facebook cloning has been an issue in past years. For such reasons, it is better Facebook users keep all their data and posting private (not public), including their list of friends.

Got Another Facebook Friend Request?

Coming back to the viral copy-paste message in question, if you receive it you can do few things. First check if the message is coming from the real Facebook account of your friend. In case if it is a cloned account, report it to Facebook and your friend as well. If you fear your account is compromised, go to Facebook Settings, into Security and login section and check all the devices where you’re logged in. If you find any other logins you did not do, report it immediately. But most likely, the chain message is coming from a friend who forwarded it to you with a good intention – without actually getting another Facebook friend request from you. So, you can ignore forwarding the chain message to others.

The message (which appears silly otherwise) went viral because it carried inherent warning about compromising of Facebook account, and it seems to come from friends/family. Also, the earlier month in September 2018, Facebook announced that a security breach affected nearly 50 million users.