Tonight I watched The Project and was quite surprised when they said how people on Facebook may be exposing themselves, their family and friends.
Over the past week I've seen and know others will have seen a couple of Facebook posts, where it felt something may not be quite what it seems. Not that the pictures weren't real, but they'd been reused.
1. A young boy who was told they wouldn't get birthday wishes and people being asked, 'Please do not scroll without typing "Happy Birthday"'.
2. A pack of wolves led by the elderly and sick in the pack.
The first was a picture that had been taken from site set up to help raise funds and the second from a BBC documentary in 2011, describing the alpha female leading the pack reducing the energy required by those following.
Whilst there may be a variety of reasons these posts exist, the reason The Project gave was very concerning.
The episode aired on Tuesday the 21st of February. The segment starts at 26:55 into the video. You can see this segment on Catch-up TV for a limited time.
An example of the type of post was given. In summary for the example given, a UK mum posted pictures on Facebook of her son with severe case of chicken pox a year ago. Her son is now healthy. The pictures now appear on Facebook saying the baby has cancer. It is stated that Facebook is giving money for likes, shares and comments. People are asked to 'please not scroll down without writing a comment saying "Amen"'.
This is a hoax.
One person interviewed said what the scammers may receive is people's information or, to direct people to websites where they might compromise a person's computer.
Carrie Bickmore goes on to say, "liking, commenting and sharing these posts, isn't just a waste of time, it's a great way to get yourself on a list of people who are vulnerable to cons." Now whether Carrie is correct or not about people ending up on list of people vulnerable to cons, outlandish offers by scammers in the past have been used to help identify the more gullible.
So if you're liking, commenting, or sharing these posts, you're potentially exposing yourself, but you may also be exposing your family and friends, who may in turn also like, comment and share.
A few years ago we saw many people forwarding emails with hoaxes and scams. This activity has now largely moved to social media sites like Facebook.
Before liking, sharing, or commenting on posts, perhaps pause for a moment and ask yourself if this will help or harm those you know.
Kelvin Eldridge
IT support.
www.OnlineConnetions.com.au
Over the past week I've seen and know others will have seen a couple of Facebook posts, where it felt something may not be quite what it seems. Not that the pictures weren't real, but they'd been reused.
1. A young boy who was told they wouldn't get birthday wishes and people being asked, 'Please do not scroll without typing "Happy Birthday"'.
2. A pack of wolves led by the elderly and sick in the pack.
The first was a picture that had been taken from site set up to help raise funds and the second from a BBC documentary in 2011, describing the alpha female leading the pack reducing the energy required by those following.
Whilst there may be a variety of reasons these posts exist, the reason The Project gave was very concerning.
The episode aired on Tuesday the 21st of February. The segment starts at 26:55 into the video. You can see this segment on Catch-up TV for a limited time.
An example of the type of post was given. In summary for the example given, a UK mum posted pictures on Facebook of her son with severe case of chicken pox a year ago. Her son is now healthy. The pictures now appear on Facebook saying the baby has cancer. It is stated that Facebook is giving money for likes, shares and comments. People are asked to 'please not scroll down without writing a comment saying "Amen"'.
This is a hoax.
One person interviewed said what the scammers may receive is people's information or, to direct people to websites where they might compromise a person's computer.
Carrie Bickmore goes on to say, "liking, commenting and sharing these posts, isn't just a waste of time, it's a great way to get yourself on a list of people who are vulnerable to cons." Now whether Carrie is correct or not about people ending up on list of people vulnerable to cons, outlandish offers by scammers in the past have been used to help identify the more gullible.
So if you're liking, commenting, or sharing these posts, you're potentially exposing yourself, but you may also be exposing your family and friends, who may in turn also like, comment and share.
A few years ago we saw many people forwarding emails with hoaxes and scams. This activity has now largely moved to social media sites like Facebook.
Before liking, sharing, or commenting on posts, perhaps pause for a moment and ask yourself if this will help or harm those you know.
Kelvin Eldridge
IT support.
www.OnlineConnetions.com.au
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