Don't Worry - Jayden K Smith Isn't Trying To Hack Your Facebook

Bogus scam warning spreads worldwide


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Gotta feel bad for all the fellas called Jayden Smith on Facebook right now.

You may have been warned by a baby boomer or naive friend in your life that there is a scammer called "Jayden K Smith" on the social media site and if you accept his friend request the account will steal all of your personal details.

Well, we're here to say it's totally bogus. There is no one with that name out to get you.

We spoke to our techspert Trevor Long about it, he said there is no way your account can be hacked by just accepting a friend request.

"The only outcome for people who have shared this is... you do look like a little bit of a fool, " he said.

"But it's a learning curve for everyone. You haven't infected anyone, you aren't infected. Just don't share it again."

Long believes the fake message has spread so quickly across the world for one simple reason - fear.

"We guard our Facebook accounts with our lives because it contains so much precious information, so the very notion that someone could hack you account by simply being a friend is a fear factor. That is why people are spreading this, they don't want that fear in their lives. They don't want their Facebook to become vulnerable."

Of course there are scammers out there and they will get you if you're not careful. Long said legitimate hacks usually include some form of link attachment and they're the ones you really need to watch out for.

"It might be a big voucher to a retail store - "click the link here to enter!" - and once you enter you're actually handing over a bunch of your personal information. Your date of birth, your full name, your location and your friends list. That is where the problem of identity fraud comes into play.

"The real two takeouts from this hoax are, don't accept friend requests from people you don't know. Secondly, lock your account down, make it private so that anything you say on Facebook only goes out to the people you want, your genuine friends."

11 July 2017




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