Facebook spam

Tsunami · 9 Apr 2024, 02:38 AM

In my Facebook account, I never had a lot of experience with spam. Lately however (in the last 2 weeks) I suddenly get private messages in Facebook that are clear spam.

These messages include PM's such as "hey, how are you?" or "can we chat on WhatsApp?" and often come from revealingly dressed women's profiles.
Another kind of spam (coming more from middle-aged men's profiles) is a friendly opening to try to gain my trust, and then suddenly ask for money, for example to be able to pay study books for the person's kids (extremely expensive study books, I have to add).
I also got a message stating I was amongst a group of people winning a huge amount of money coming from a US-based organisation giving money to vulnerable or disabled people (I don't even live in the US and never participated in any contest by that organisation). Oddly enough the PM about this came from the profile of someone I know in real life, and she claims she already had her sum of money delivered. Probably her account got hacked.

I blocked every account engaging in these types of spam, but I find it very odd that I got 6 or 7 such private messages on Facebook, whereas in the past I almost never got spam PM on Facebook. I don't know what could explain the increase in such spam messages?

webecedarian · 9 Apr 2024, 10:52 AM

I have a Hotmail account that I used for only a few people, never gave out the address ... and I noticed that on the rare occasions I heard from a particular person, I'd get a spam message or two soon after, as if the spam was riding on his coattails.

chrisretusn · 9 Apr 2024, 04:13 PM

I not longer post to my News Feed on Facebook. I do occasionally comment or react to a post from others. I have had replies to my comments like you describe. I report them. I don't bother blocking them, simply because most of the time that are from different people. Almost all of these posters are from new accounts. If I see these type of post in other post comments I report them too. I turn off most notifications from Facebook, I only get the a few email notifications and occasional in Facebook notifications. It does seem that Facebook sometimes turns them back on. I just turn it back off.

Bamb0 · 10 Apr 2024, 01:44 PM

Someone got into a friend of mines FB account and sent spam to someone pretending to be him..... He knew it was clearly not him!!!!

TenFour · 10 Apr 2024, 09:19 PM

In a general culling of my social media and email accounts I recently closed my Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts, and I haven't missed them at all. Nobody in my family is a regular FB poster so there is no loss.

chrisretusn · 11 Apr 2024, 02:02 PM

Family, a few close friends and some organization pages I follow are what keep me on Facebook. When we communicate it's with Messenger.

Tsunami · Today, 03:46 AM

I only keep my social media accounts to communicate with far-away friends who insist on communicating through Facebook, and to promote my artistic work. Sadly enough, as an artist or aspiring artist, you cannot do without a FB page anymore ; it's already quite "risky" not to actively use Instagram and X.

I prefer WhatsApp over Messenger.

I do wonder why there are suddenly so many friend requests from people I don't know (I accept only when there are enough common friends) and so many private chats on Facebook that turn out to be spam. Until a few weeks ago, I hardly had any such things happening, now suddenly numerous such PM's in a few weeks time. Could there be a reason for that sudden increase?

9 Apr 2024, 02:38 AM	#1
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,339	Facebook spam In my Facebook account, I never had a lot of experience with spam. Lately however (in the last 2 weeks) I suddenly get private messages in Facebook that are clear spam. These messages include PM's such as "hey, how are you?" or "can we chat on WhatsApp?" and often come from revealingly dressed women's profiles. Another kind of spam (coming more from middle-aged men's profiles) is a friendly opening to try to gain my trust, and then suddenly ask for money, for example to be able to pay study books for the person's kids (extremely expensive study books, I have to add). I also got a message stating I was amongst a group of people winning a huge amount of money coming from a US-based organisation giving money to vulnerable or disabled people (I don't even live in the US and never participated in any contest by that organisation). Oddly enough the PM about this came from the profile of someone I know in real life, and she claims she already had her sum of money delivered. Probably her account got hacked. I blocked every account engaging in these types of spam, but I find it very odd that I got 6 or 7 such private messages on Facebook, whereas in the past I almost never got spam PM on Facebook. I don't know what could explain the increase in such spam messages?

9 Apr 2024, 10:52 AM	#2
webecedarian Essential Contributor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 479	I have a Hotmail account that I used for only a few people, never gave out the address ... and I noticed that on the rare occasions I heard from a particular person, I'd get a spam message or two soon after, as if the spam was riding on his coattails.

9 Apr 2024, 04:13 PM	#3
chrisretusn Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 843	I not longer post to my News Feed on Facebook. I do occasionally comment or react to a post from others. I have had replies to my comments like you describe. I report them. I don't bother blocking them, simply because most of the time that are from different people. Almost all of these posters are from new accounts. If I see these type of post in other post comments I report them too. I turn off most notifications from Facebook, I only get the a few email notifications and occasional in Facebook notifications. It does seem that Facebook sometimes turns them back on. I just turn it back off.

10 Apr 2024, 01:44 PM	#4
Bamb0 Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: USA Posts: 1,864	Someone got into a friend of mines FB account and sent spam to someone pretending to be him..... He knew it was clearly not him!!!!

10 Apr 2024, 09:19 PM	#5
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,721	In a general culling of my social media and email accounts I recently closed my Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts, and I haven't missed them at all. Nobody in my family is a regular FB poster so there is no loss.

11 Apr 2024, 02:02 PM	#6
chrisretusn Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Philippines Posts: 843	Family, a few close friends and some organization pages I follow are what keep me on Facebook. When we communicate it's with Messenger.

Today, 03:46 AM	#7
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,339	I only keep my social media accounts to communicate with far-away friends who insist on communicating through Facebook, and to promote my artistic work. Sadly enough, as an artist or aspiring artist, you cannot do without a FB page anymore ; it's already quite "risky" not to actively use Instagram and X. I prefer WhatsApp over Messenger. I do wonder why there are suddenly so many friend requests from people I don't know (I accept only when there are enough common friends) and so many private chats on Facebook that turn out to be spam. Until a few weeks ago, I hardly had any such things happening, now suddenly numerous such PM's in a few weeks time. Could there be a reason for that sudden increase?