Main image via Pixabay
Facebook is a great way to keep connected with family and friends… And now we can add scammers to that list too. Yikes!
Facebook has been warned by security researchers that scammers could misuse its phone number and email search facility to obtain people’s data. If you’ve added your phone number in your profile, but didn’t change your privacy settings, then chances are, some company out there already has your information.
via GIPHY
Until very recently, you could use Facebook to search for people by simply typing in their phone number or email. However, scammers have abused this facility to gain access to people’s name and basic information.
The scammer could type in any phone number—even if it was completely made up—and link it to a person’s profile. More often than not, information such as the person’s name and location will pop up. The scammer would then pretend to be from a bank or other organisations.
via GIPHY
Facebook said that the facility had been beneficial for finding friends and acquaintances particularly in countries where many people share the same name. While members could choose not to portray their phone number on their profile, retrieving it was still possible. The company has now disabled the ability to search by phone number.
It’s time to be more careful with what personal information we put out there, we never know who will be up to no good!
Filled Under :
*We reserve the right to delete comments that contain inappropriate content.