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Since joining Facebook, I have received a number of friend requests from people I don't know. Sometimes the person has a friend in common with me and got my name that way, but lately I've gotten friend requests out of the blue from complete strangers. I either ignore them or send a brief message explaining that I don't accept friend requests from people I don't know.
Yesterday a man who tried to friend me said that he meant no harm and apologized for intruding on my privacy, but he liked my profile and just wanted to be friends. I politely declined the request, but now I'm wondering if these friend requests are an attempt at phishing or identity theft? It's kind of creepy, like being stalked.
I'm convinced that Facebook will occasionally send friend requests out without your permission. I've gotten notices saying "So-and-So has accepted your friend request" when I'd never heard of the person. It's embarrassing to say, "Uh, I'm sure you're a wonderful person and all, but..."
I've gotten a few requests from strangers, too, but it's usually women who synced their FB with other social media and realized I was so-and-so on Pinterest or Instagram or something and we're already acquainted and joke around a lot. I accept those and there haven't been any problems. I ignore the ones from men, though. Strange men are the #1 reason I don't have any pictures of myself on any of my social media.
MySpace was so much better back in the day. This whole business of using one's real name is for the birds.
Wow, friend requests being accepted when you never sent one out? That's really creepy. Maybe someone has hijacked your Facebook account?
I've never used MySpace, but Facebook makes you use your real name.
No one got into my account. I know other people who have had that happen, too. That's why when I get requests from people I don't know personally, I ask them if they actually sent it. A few people did not. No harm, no foul.
MySpace didn't make you use your real name. Many people used screen names like we do here. Plenty of people on Facebook use fake names, too. I did on an old account. But when you create a Facebook account now, it wants your mobile phone number to verify who you are, and if you don't want to give it, it actually has the audacity to tell you it will accept a state-authorized ID instead. It has totally gone Big Brother.
In a way I can understand Facebook's "Big Brother" attitude. They want to prevent people from creating false identities and impersonating other people, particularly celebrities. Some imposters have created phony celebrity Twitter accounts, so the "celebrity" whose tweets you follow just might be a fake.
It is scary, though, that complete strangers can get Facebook friend requests from you that you didn't authorize. This hasn't happened to me - yet!
In a way I can understand Facebook's "Big Brother" attitude. They want to prevent people from creating false identities and impersonating other people, particularly celebrities. Some imposters have created phony celebrity Twitter accounts, so the "celebrity" whose tweets you follow just might be a fake.
It is scary, though, that complete strangers can get Facebook friend requests from you that you didn't authorize. This hasn't happened to me - yet!
I think it goes beyond catering to celebrities. Facebook can and does have ways for celebrities to verify their accounts. They don't need phone records or state IDs for the other 99.9999% of us. It's a way of getting into your phone so it can pull your information out, and a way of collecting information about you to share with advertisers and marketers.
Third-party apps are another way it will send out requests without you knowing or expressly giving permission. That's why I don't play any games on there. The only third-party app I use is Spotify, and that doesn't send out requests on your behalf. If you play games, make sure you read the fine print about what the app will do before you add it to your platform. They will say things like, "By adding this app, you agree that the app can access your photos, friends list, birthday [and whatever else it's going to collect and use for advertising], make posts on your behalf, send friend requests on your behalf..." Some do and some don't, but I don't bother with any of them. I'd rather spend my goof-off time here on C-D.
Is your account private? You should make it to where only people on your friends list can see your profile. That's a safety concern to me. I only get requests from people I don't know because of a game I used to play. You need friends to complete tasks and most people use Facebook to find other players. Other than that, I haven't.
Geeze, people are so paranoid nowadays. "Oh, don't accept that request, there's a 1 in a million chance that something bad could happen." Yes, I've accepted requests from strangers, I have 1,779 friends and probably haven't even met 10-15% of them in person. I've had an OCCASIONAL problem where people have tried to sell me stuff or messaged me and went straight into creep mode. If that happens, I delete them, but I give people the benefit of the doubt. I've even talked to someone from Haiti who randomly added me. That's pretty cool and something that people who close themselves off from the world don't get to do. To people who close themselves off, you're just making yourselves miserable inside those walls. Think about it, if you send someone a friend request (voluntarily) you have a reason.
I know it's hard, but the world would be a better place if we all learned to trust each other a little more.
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