Hackers locked an Isipingo resident out of his own Facebook account recently and sent messages to his contacts asking for money. The messages also asked his contacts to invest in a cryptocurrency scheme.
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Ashwin Rughbeer, who is an attorney, said he noticed on November 14 that he had been logged out of his account and that seemed odd as he had not logged out.
“I tried to log in again, but I received a notification saying my logging-in details do not match those of the account,” said Ashwin.
After creating a new profile, Ashwin said he was then inboxed by people saying he had sent them messages asking for money.
“The person who hijacked his profile even posted a fake Capitec Bank notification alongside my photo, claiming to be a payout from an investment. I would like to tell people that these messages are not coming from me. I have not asked anyone to send me money or promoted any investment,” said Ashwin.
He tried to open a case with the police but was told nothing can be done. He said he also reported the post with the fake Capitec notification, but Facebook refused to take it down after claiming it does not go against community standards.
He said the ordeal has affected him, his family and those around him as he does not know how the scammer obtained his personal details to hijack his profile.
How to protect your password
- Avoid using anything that’s personally identifiable, such as your name, phone number, birthdate or address.
- Ensure that it’s at least six characters long and use a complex combination of numbers, letters and punctuation marks.
- Avoid using common words or your name.
- Use a unique password that you’re not using anywhere else online.
- Never share your password.
- For extra security, change your password every six months.
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