FB scam: Beware of clone accounts or friend requests from 'chiobus' asking for your phone number

Submitted by Stomper M, A

If you think a sudden message from a pretty friend or stranger asking for your number on Facebook seems strange, you are probably right.

Stompers M and A both encountered messages from people they were already friends with on Facebook.

The messages asked for the Stompers to reveal their contact numbers, stating that the person who was sending the message had lost their contacts list.

Stomper A found this suspicious, and contacted the friend who supposedly sent the message.

But the friend, however, denied this and mentioned that her account might have been hacked.

Her account had been duplicated, and someone was using it to ask others for their contact numbers.

Stomper A was also sent a friend request from a pretty girl who allegedly lived in Taiwan.

He did not add that person as a friend, and was wary that this is likely to be a scam too.

He did add, however, that the pretty girl's account was likely to have been duplicated for use in the scam too.

Stomper M, however, was not quite as lucky.

Trusting that the clone account was her friend's, she revealed her number and that her line was under Circles.Life.

However, she soon received a message saying that purchases were being made under her name online.

She then realised the 'friend' had blocked her on Facebook.

When she contacted the friend directly, she learnt that she had added a duplicate account of her friend's account.

"I have reported the matter to Facebook," said M in her post about the incident, through which she hoped to bring awareness about this scam.

So if you get similar requests that trigger alarm bells, stick with your gut feeling and avoid them altogether.