The New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) continues to receive reports of Facebook Messenger social engineering scams.

Facebook Messenger Scams

Messages are received from a Facebook account the target is “friends” with but whose account has been hacked. These messages vary but often include a link that leads to a website requesting the target’s Facebook account credentials. Some messages reported include language referring to a COVID-19 grant program and claiming the target can receive thousands of dollars.

Previously reported scam messages contained phrases like “Hey I saw this video. Isn’t this you?” or claimed the sender is in trouble and needs money. These Facebook Messenger scams are prolific and have resulted in compromised Facebook accounts and monetary loss.

The NJCCIC recommends Facebook users review the FBI article Building a Digital Defense Against Facebook Messenger Frauds and the NJCCIC’s Guide to Accessing Facebook’s Security & Privacy Settings for information on how to identify and defend against Facebook Messenger scams and better secure their accounts, respectively. Incident reports can be submitted to the NJCCIC via the NJCCIC Cyber Incident Report Form and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) website.