Facebook users are being urged by Halton police to be cautious when accepting new friend requests from people they don’t know.
According to police, there have been several recent reports of users on the popular social media website accepting requests from people of the opposite gender who then engage them in an online conversation with the goal to move onto a video chat using Skype.
Once on that social media tool, the new friend moves the conversation towards a sexual nature and ultimately asks the other person to get naked — the individual then records all this without the users’ knowledge.
The recording is used to extort money from the victim when the new friend threatens to publish the video on all of the victim’s friends’ accounts and YouTube unless he or she pays a sum of money.
Anyone who has encountered this scenario is encouraged to report it to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by phone at 1-888-495-8501, fax at 1-888-654-9426 or online at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/reportit-howtoreportfraud.html.
Halton police advise social media users to carefully screen any new friend requests, especially those from someone of the opposite sex.
“If you do accept new friends where the conversation turns to one of a sexual nature and you are asked to do a video chat, you are being set up to be extorted,” according to a police news release.
“Should this occur, you are encouraged cease all communication with that user, unfriend them and report the account to Facebook.”
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Detail Link :
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/5528785-screen-new-friend-requests-on-facebook-advise-halton-police/