The Cyber Cell of Coimbatore City Police have warned people of cheating wherein Facebook users are targeted.
The Cell said in a release that fraudsters commit the cheating by creating a fake account of a person by downloading his or her profile photo and cover photo. Fraudsters then contact the friends of the person using Facebook Messenger and ask for money for emergencies. They seek to transfer money to specific digital wallets or bank accounts through online payment methods.
According to the Cell, stealing of profile picture and cover photo of a Facebook account could be prevented by activating ‘Lock Your Profile’ option which enables only those in the friends list to see the profile. Users, who are not interested to lock the profile, could also change settings which hides friends list from others. The URL of a fake profile will be different from the original Facebook profile, said the Cyber Cell, cautioning users about the mode of cheating.
