Q&A: Are fake Facebook friend requests always sent from a fake account?
Enjoy today's featured easy-to-follow tech tip.
Rick's Daily Tech Tips Update for Thursday, August 29, 2024
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Today’s featured tech tip…
Q&A: Are fake Facebook friend requests always sent from a fake account?
Question from Kristin: A Facebook friend got a fake friend request from me and simply deleted it.
Do these fake requests always involve a duplicate account?
I searched my name and only found my legitimate account. How can I find the fake one?
Rick's answer: Kristin, that duplicate friend request either came from a fake clone account (which is what happens in 99.5% of these cases) or someone hacked into your real account and sent the request from there.
Here's how to quickly rule out the possibility that the friend request came from your real account...
Check to see if the person that received the friend request is still on your Facebook "Friends List".
If so, that means the friend request couldn't have possibly been sent from your real account because Facebook won't send a friend request to someone who is already on your Friends list.
In fact, there won't even be an "Add Friend" button available to click on.
Here's the most likely explanation for why you couldn't find the fake clone account via a search...
You said you typed your name into the Facebook search box and only found your real account.
In that case the most likely explanation is one (or more) of your other friends also received fraudulent friend requests from the clone account and reported it to Facebook, who then removed the fake account before you did your search.
The time it takes for a reported account to be removed varies greatly depending on several factors (and some accounts are never removed). Although they are rarely that prompt, some fake accounts are actually removed within minutes of Facebook receiving the report. I'm thinking that's what happened here.
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Picture of the Day...
“Nighttime at Antelope Canyon”
Today’s POTD features a striking view of the night sky from the inside of one of Antelope Canyon's famous "cracks". I hope you like it.
Bonus tips from some the web’s best Tech sites...
Every day I hand-pick five of the best tips I found on my favorite tech sites and share them with you, my wonderful subscribers. Here is today’s selection:
• Phone scammers are using faked AI voices. Here’s how to protect yourself
• 5 Night Mode tips every iPhone photographer should know
• Firefox's automatic Picture-in-Picture mode is a time-saver for those who use it
• All the ways to take screenshots on Windows
• How to export your Desktop settings in Linux
Today's post from 'Living (and loving) Life'...
Are you legally required to show your receipt as you’re exiting a store?
Rick's daily gadget pick...
Every day I feature a tech item that I’ve hand-picked to be among the best of the best.
Click here to see what I’m loving today.
Today’s tech news headlines...
• Play Store can now download multiple Android app updates at the same time
• Verizon to offer satellite-based emergency messaging this fall
•Tumblr to move its half a billion blogs to WordPress
• Google increases Chrome bug bounty rewards up to $250,000
• Apple begins rolling out support for IDs in Wallet to its seventh state
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Thanks so much, and have an amazing day.
Your tech buddy,
Rick Rouse
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