Facebook Fake News, Messages And Scams

How many of you are sick to the back teeth of receiving the message regarding "Jayden K Smith" who is an alleged hacker?

The message of course is a hoax, yet people in their droves, copied and distributed it to their friends simply because that is what the instructions told them to do. But a quick google of the name "Jayden K Smith" would have revealed that the message is fake and that Facebook users should ignore it.

However, fake news and hoaxes are not new and are commonplace on the internet. Content such as this is unlikely to disappear from our screens any time soon. We have all witnessed the classic story stating that Facebook will start charging us for using the service. How many panicked over that statement?

Or the one about wirelessly charging your iPhone in the microwave. Yes people actually fell for that one.

Another classic one that occasionally makes a comeback is "Facebook own all copyright to your images". This is simply not true, yet people post the message stating they do not give Facebook permission to share or own their photos and thousands follow suit. Remember the one about certain airlines giving away free tickets to anywhere in the world? All you had to do was provide your name, email address and phone number to a dodgy website and share the post with your friends. The list is endless. Facebook scams and hoaxes will continue for the foreseeable future. However you can take certain steps to reduce the annoyance of fake messages and posts. A simple Google search of the main content will often be sufficient to make you aware of any falsities. Try Googling "Jayden K Smith" and see what pops up on your screen.

Immediately you will observe news websites featuring the fake story. Often it will lead you to excellent resources such as Hoax Slayer where full details and analysis of the prank message, email or post are provided. If you do this before making the decision to forward on to other poor unsuspecting victims, you will help reduce the distribution of such fraudulent content.

Then maybe the world be a better place.