- FAST FACTS:
- Woman's Facebook page hacked, hacker begs for financial help
- Friends asked to wire cash to London
- "I did feel safe because I felt like I was among friends."
(Memphis 7/6/09) A woman's first brush with online social networking began innocently enough, but a scam cost her friends hundreds.
It started with an urgent plea for help coming from DeAnne Gammon's Facebook page. The messages said the Memphis mom, who appeared to be stranded in London, was in desperate need of a friend -- and cash. Facebook friends were told "cash and cell phone were stolen" and "I need $800". The internet chats began around 2 a.m. while the real Deanne Gammon was asleep in Memphis. The woman had just joined the online site Facebook, but it wasn't long before a scammer hacked into her account.
"I'm just really astonished that this could happen and it could happen to anyone. The really scary thing is that anyone who could look at my Facebook page also knows a lot of information about me."
But the hacker didn't have everything at his fingertips. Tech-savvy friends got suspicious, and when the hacker couldn't answer simple questions, they picked up the phone. But by the time Gammon heard her page had been hacked, the scammer hit up at least five people, and one had taken the bait.
"She had gotten in her car, driven to a grocery store with a western union and wired $500 to the hacker in London."
Gammon doesn't know how the hacker stole her online identity, but knows she made it easy. For years, she kept her passwords the same. Feeling invaded and exposed, now she's changed her passwords and the way she lives online.
"You just have to be careful of what you put on the internet. I know I'm going to be a lot more conscious from now on."
Experts say internet users should change passwords once every three months. Gammon emailed Facebook, who apologized and sent her a new password. She has also filed a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
www.ic3.gov
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