Most Common Scams on Facebook (and How To Avoid Them)

Sharing on Facebook is almost too simple, which makes it even easier for scams to proliferate. We've rounded up some of the most common Facebook scams, so you can see exactly what not to share.

All it takes is for one person to fall for a hoax on Facebook and they spread like wildfire through the social network. Many people when quizzed will say they knew it wasn't true, but they thought they had better share it just in case. (Which makes no sense whatsoever.) We round up some of the more common scams found on Facebook so you know what not to share.



Facebook scams usually focus on the idea that Facebook is either going to start charging users, or that Facebook's privacy options are changing. By copying and pasting a status you can somehow protect yourself from either having to pay a fee or losing the rights to any of your stuff saved on the network.
Exactly why people start spreading these scams isn't clear, but there is one thing we can guarantee: they are all absolute rubbish and you can safely ignore them. Certainly do not share them, which does nothing other than keep the rumour alive and allow people to falsely believe they are protected.

Strangers are following you

This is an odd hoax doing the rounds, and one we think comes from a misunderstanding rather than anything malicious.
Facebook allows users to follow people who they aren't friends with, yet all they can see is any information posted on their profile with the public setting.
However, we've seen the following message appearing on Facebook: "Learned something that was rather disturbing tonight. Time to tighten up security on your Facebook profiles!! I just blocked about 20 foreign people from following my profile and I thought I was already locked down! If you go to Account Settings > Blocking > Block Users and type in "following me", without the quotes, you may possibly see a bunch of people following you that you don't know Block each one and confirm!"
If you follow those steps you will indeed find a list of people you don't know. As will everyone else who tries - in fact they will see the same list of people you do. They aren't really following you at all. In fact, there is something in their profile - be it a nickname or a liked page or whatever - that causes them to appear under this search.

See More:

• How to take 360-degree photos on Facebook
• What are bots on Facebook?
• How to sort your Facebook feed by time on mobile
• Dive deeper into Facebook Page Insights
• 5 ways to boost your Facebook Page reach

Facebook owns your information

Back in November 2012 when these hoax posts first began doing the rounds, the company stated: "There is a rumour circulating that Facebook is making a change related to ownership of users' information or the content they post to the site. This is false. Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information they post, as stated in our terms. They control how that content and information is shared. That is our policy, and it always has been. Click here to learn more: facebook.com/policies."
It's important to note that any terms and conditions to which you are bound were explained when you signed up to Facebook. Facebook can't change the terms without telling you, and posting a status update won't protect you from those you've already agreed to - if you don't like its terms (the actual terms, not the rumoured ones) then deactivate your account and stop using the social network.

Don't accept a friend request from this known hacker

We've seen a few messages shared via Facebook Messenger warning users not to accept friend requests from known hackers or their account will be compromised and so will that of all their friends. It's nonsense, but it does do some good in reminding people that they shouldn't be accepting friend requests from people they don't know.