Many people have tried, being added by a some random user on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
There are a few different types of accounts that may add you, such as these two, very common accounts:
- Adult-rated accounts (clear from the profile picture).
- “Normal” accounts (they appear normal, but have close to no information about them available).
Why do they add me?!
The odds of these people actually knowing you, is very slim. So why would they add you?
There’s a good chance that you will accept the person, and from then on, they’ll have access to your profile information as well. They might add you, because they:
- Have a link on their profile, which it’s very likely that you’ll also click to “learn more about them”, but you will be sent to a website with a ton of ads – they earn money!
- Post a bunch of weird articles, videos, polls or questionnaires, to get you to click their posts, sending you to a website with a ton of ads – they earn money!
- Gather your information, such as name, date of birth, pictures, information of relatives and friends, to create yet another profile, pretending to be you. Why is this smart? – They have your friends list too, so if they can add just a few of your friends, then they’ll probably have links on that profile, which others might click. Guess what? You’ll be sent to a website with a ton of ads – they earn money!
It might not only be a website with “a ton of ads”. It can also be a link, sending you to another website, probably for advertising purposes, sure. But they earn money when you click the link.
Chances are high that some of these websites you’ll be sent to, would be caught by anti-virus software, simply because the sites are using phishing mechanisms to record your personal information. Not all of the websites do this, and you’ll be required to “confirm your identity”, by either sharing a post, logging in with Facebook, or liking the website.
How do I limit the madness??
If you want to get rid of unwanted people adding you, or at least limit it on Facebook. You can follow the guide to Facebook Privacy. Especially aim for the part called: “Who can send me friend requests?”.
It is always a good idea, not to expose yourself too much. This is the internet, and you can’t help but leave a lot of digital footprints all over the place. A good idea, though, is to think before joining groups, liking and sharing on Social Media. You have to ask yourself: “Do I really have to let everyone know, by joining a group on Facebook, called: “I love strawberries in summer time”, that I like strawberries in summer?!. The answer is probably no, and after a week, you’ve already forgotten about joining that group.
The more exposed you are, the more likely you are to be seen, the more likely you are to get the unwanted attention.
But I have already added someone?!
If you suspect you have added one, more, or probably all of these people, that you are certain is up to no good, as described above. You should report the user.
Reporting a user on Facebook
- Open the profile in question.
- Click the three dots icon.
- Click “Report“.
Fully shown below:
When reporting the user, you can choose to also block the user, which will make sure you will not hear from that person again.
Might there be more?
If you suspect that it’s not the only one you had on your friends list. Maybe it’s time to go through your friends list as well. I would certainly suggest clicking the Friends tab on your profile, going through the whole list, to make sure you actually know all of your “friends”.
Over’n’out,
Brian
