On Social Media, False Friends Will Do More Than Break Your Heart
Social networks can be a beautiful thing. They link us together, connecting people and ideas in ways and chains that were previously impossible. But the best parts of social media are often also the worst parts, especially when abused by scammers. The newest such trend is being called “farcing” by experts, and it’s just one more reason to be protective of your online accounts.
Farcing is similar to phishing. You know, those really sinister emails that seem to be from a trusted site, like your PayPal account, but are really just luring you into giving up your password? Well, farcing is like phishing — for friendship. In a recent study Arun Vishwanath, associate professor of communication at the University of Buffalo, explains: “Farcing attacks occur in two stages: a first stage where phishers use a phony profile to friend victims, and a second stage, where phishers solicit personal information directly from victims.” He goes on to explain how the false friends spread through networks, with a “contagion effect.” Most people discover new online buddies through friend-of-a-friend referrals. If someone you already know, like, and trust has connected with someone else, you’re that much more likely to connect with that second person as well.
And this isn’t just about the private data leakage that usually gets Facebook into trouble. Farcing can lead to dangerous results: bullying, identity theft, home burglaries, and in one documented instance, child abuse. Vishwanath cites a case near Buffalo where a substitute teacher posed as a teenage girl online in order to trick other students into sending sexual explicit photographs of themselves. Sadly, this was effective. The teacher is currently serving out a 30 year prison sentence, but there are plenty more crooks and creeps where he came from.
We’ve all gotten more wary about sharing personal info online, for a lot of obvious reasons. But social networking sites aren’t making it easy for us. Facebook recently launched ‘Nearby Friends’ that enables location tracking, and a new Messenger app that can access your camera without your permission, and send your contacts to third parties. Twitter is also testing out a new function that sends you tweets of people your friends follow, but you don’t — not as a retweet or an ad, but as if you were following them. (Which you aren’t.) All of this creates more connections that you may not have signed on for, and gives out more info than you’re ready to share.
Many of us on social media have become immune to ads, and refuse to pay for content, but people are still after the one thing that’s most valuable: your private information. If these sites aren’t looking out for you, you have to look out for yourself, and your friends. Pay close attention to who’s trying to engage you. And just like in real life, never do anything just because your friends are doing it.
[Pic via Flickr - Seth Sawyers]
