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No, Facebook hasn't been hacked. No, your account hasn't been cloned. Nobody panic

You don't need to do anything

No, Facebook hasn't been hacked. No, your account hasn't been cloned. Nobody panic
08 October 2018

Facebook certainly has plenty of flaws when it comes to privacy and security.

A week ago, the social media giant admitted that almost 50 million of its users were left exposed by a serious security breach.

According to the BBC, the company said attackers were able to exploit a system vulnerability to get control of people’s accounts.

[And let’s not even get into the whole Facebook-Cambridge Analytica debacle again.]

But at least when it comes to one viral story about Facebook accounts being cloned, you really don’t have to worry.

Over the weekend, many Facebook users were duped into thinking their accounts had been cloned – and people have been spreading the message to their friends.

This is what the message said:

“Hi….I actually got another friend request from you yesterday…which I ignored so you may want to check your account. Hold your finger on the message until the forward button appears…then hit forward and all the people you want to forward too….I had to do the people individually. Good Luck!”

While cloning scams are a real thing, Facebook says this particular message is nothing but a hoax.

A Facebook told NewsChannel 9 there is no known uptick in cloned accounts this week, but the warning being sent around could be going viral out of fear.

Facebook also says this is not connected to last week’s security breach.

So what should you do if you get one of those viral messages? Absolutely nothing – just carry on as you were. 

(Image: Getty)