Jayden K Smith Is Not Your Friend Nor Does He Want To Be

The reports you have probably read, whether or not you have a Facebook account, about someone named Jayden K. Smith dying to be your friend are indeed true. What does that mean, you ask? There really is a hoax going around that asks Facebook users to spread the word not to connect to a particular "friend." However, that particular person is not necessarily a hacker, may not even exist, and if you do accept any such requests, it does not mean your account is or ever will be hacked. In fact, that just isn't the way hacking works.

Before going any further, a few tips. Facebook is a social media platform where you can connect with others, most definitely. However, it should be treated as any other location where there are a lot of strangers. If you are out at a party or at an event, you certainly can meet a lot of people. However, consider whether you would just hand over personal information to them right away. Think about all the information on your Facebook profile and decide if you want strangers to have access to that. Even though someone cannot hack your account merely by friending you, someone certainly can use the information from there to spearphish.

Spearphishing is a tactic used by hackers. They use specific information about a target that they can pick up from social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and others. Then they use it to send email messages or even place phone calls trying to get even more information that is useful to them; information such as payment card information, social security numbers, or in the case of the office, convince the target to perform a fraudulent wire transfer. This happens to those working in departments such as accounting and Human Resources, because those people often have access to sensitive information.

If you are browsing social media and get a friend request from a stranger, it typically is not recommended that you just blindly accept it. Ask your actual friends if perhaps it is a mutual friend that you just don't immediately recognize before accepting. If no one knows, it could be someone with bad intentions.

In the case of Jayden K. Smith (and previously Anwar Jitou, Linda Smith, Christopher Butterfield, and Jason Allen), these messages are just an annoyance as far as anyone can tell and any request to share them should be ignored. What they do indicate is that people really don't understand how identity thieves can get information about them or "hack" their accounts. While there are many ways this can happen, just friending someone is not one of them. However, giving them access to what you post on social media can lead to identity theft, fraud, or account access. So always make sure you know who your friends really are when it comes to social media.

© Copyright 2017 Stickley on Security