Hackers target Facebook users, make cloned profiles

Fake pages set up impersonating 11 News reporter, producer

BALTIMORE —There are warnings about identity theft when it comes to credit cards and Social Security numbers, but social media accounts are also susceptible.

Scammers can set up fake Facebook pages using a person's name and photos, and for many, it's hard to fight back.

Many people rely on social media to stay connected with friends and family. WBAL-TV executive sports producer Chris Dachille often shares what he's doing at work.

"I get to write a blog about sports. I'll put up a link to that on my Facebook page, and it gets a lot of people to click on that," Dachille told 11 News reporter Kerry Cavanaugh.

Dachille experienced an explosion of activity earlier this fall when a hacker created another Chris Dachille page, complete with his photos and friend list. His real friends bombarded him with warnings that the hacker was personally contacting them, pretending to be him.

"Someone was pretending to be me, asking for money, and that's very troubling. My first thought was, 'Do they have my banking information? Do they have my Social Security number, or stuff like that?'" Dachille said.

They could, according to IT expert Sean Gallagher. He said he believes social networking scams are surging because they're so easy to pull off.

"It plays against the natural weakness of social networks. Everything that they do in social networks is designed to get people to friend each other," Gallagher said.

Once you unknowingly accept a friend request from a hacker, Gallagher said you give them access to your personal information.

Cavanaugh agreed to Facebook friend someone posing as a co-worker, and days later, she said a hacker set up a fake Kerry Cavanaugh page posing as her. That person started sending links to her real friends.

"They can send you links to things online that can be to sites that are filled with malware that attack your browser, attack your computer, and install programs that steal more information from you," Gallagher said.

Dachille and Cavanaugh each asked Facebook to take the cloned pages down, but the site did nothing until the two reported the situation to the Maryland Attorney General's Office. Facebook responded by removing the fake pages, telling 11 News in a statement, "Facebook is constantly developing new tools to help users tighten their security settings and educating users about best safety practices."

Facebook policy communications spokeswoman Jodi Seth said the best way to protect oneself is to choose a strong password and change it every three months, vet every friend request, beware of suspicious emails with misspellings, typos, multiple fonts or oddly placed accents; and ignore messages that claim your account will be deleted or locked unless you provide your password or personal information.

Gallagher added that updated antivirus software helps deter hackers looking for easy marks.

"These are people who are the equivalent of street criminals on the Internet. They're using the simplest possible techniques to get access to your information and turn it into something of value to them," he said.

Dachille said he's enhanced the privacy settings on his page; however, the whole experience changed his outlook on social networking.

"There's not a lot of desire for me to use Facebook anymore. I was really disappointed with the customer service. I know it's a free deal, but it just seemed to be pretty poor on their part," he said.

With 1.5 billion Facebook accounts activated worldwide, hackers have no shortage of targets.

Online identity thieves are often difficult to track down because they operate across state lines and sometimes on a global basis. Still, Gallagher said sometimes contacting law enforcement will encourage a company like Facebook to take down a fake page.