The fear of your Facebook account being hacked is causing strange problems.

Supposedly you can find “unknown followers” ​​who are potential profile hackers through a simple search.

Screenshot Mimikama.at
Screenshot Mimikama.at

A status post that is currently often copied says:

“Because it’s relevant again:

Here's something helpful to check in your own FB account - I had just done this to myself and I had 42 unknown "followers" from India, Pakistan and who knows where from...

  1. Go to your Facebook settings
  2. Click “Block” – Block people
  3. Type “Following me” without quotes in the text box.
  4. Tap Block. You will then find people from different countries who you don't know, but who still follow you and your posts.
  5. If the names don't mean anything to you (like all 42 of them for me!), then just block them one by one.
    Complete!! This can prevent you from being hacked.

So, spread the word!
But please don’t just share, please copy this into your own status!”

In short: a search for Following me should find followers who are not officially displayed. Let's do a self-experiment:

Screenshot Mimikama.at
Screenshot Mimikama.at

In fact, we find a lot of people there. But do you also see what is written above the search result?

“The list below shows results for people whose profile contains words similar to “following me.” These people may not be your friends or followers.”

Facebook itself seems to be aware of the rumor about the unknown followers and has recently started showing this notice, which did not yet exist in German-speaking countries in February 2018, when we last reported on it .
A sample of the listed accounts confirms the text displayed by Facebook:

Screenshot Mimikama.at
Screenshot Mimikama.at

And this is where the common thing about the copied text becomes apparent:
Because you have the words “following me” in a status post, you now appear in this list ! Your profile will now appear in this search and other users who believe the status will think you are a “hacker”, as you can see on Megan’s profile above:

Screenshot Mimikama.at
Screenshot Mimikama.at

Let's summarize:

The status post is absolute nonsense !
You won't find "unknown followers", but rather profiles that have the words "following me" in some status post or in the profile itself. Even worse: If you copy this status post onto your profile, you will also appear on the list and become a supposed “hacker” for others.

 

 


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )