Cyber ​​criminals are currently using a special scam called social engineering: They create a copy of actually existing Facebook profiles and send friend requests to Facebook members from the fake account's friends list under the name of the profile owner.

Many victims accept the renewed friend request innocently - after all, they know the profile picture and name of the sender. What follows is a message asking you to provide your mobile number.

Anyone who accepts this will receive a numerical code shortly afterwards because the fraudsters have registered the mobile number with a paid service. If the request to send the numerical code to the fraudsters is followed, the criminals can redeem the code with payment service providers and thus pay their mobile phone bill burden victims.

It is advisable to carefully check such types of messages - even if they come from supposed friends - and, if in doubt, to make personal contact with the alleged sender of the message.

It's not just vulnerabilities in devices or networks that endanger digital security.
Fraudsters use people as a point of attack as a gateway for criminal activities. This approach is known as “social engineering”. BSI has summarized here how citizens can recognize them and how they can protect themselves. https://www.bsi-fuer-buerger.de/BSIFB/DE/DigitaleGesellschaft/IT_sicherheit_am_Arbeitsplatz/SoEng/Social_Engineering_node.html

Source: BSI


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