I’ve noticed more and more frequently recently that I’m getting friend requests that seem OK at first glance, but don’t stand up to scrutiny.Why?
Well, it’s all about marketing, but from the very bottom of the barrel. Anybody wanting to look popular can actually buy FaceBook likes now, from places like this. Unfortunately these ‘likes’ are made up of dummy accounts. Not real people. Zombies.
Whoever controls these zombie accounts seem to be expanding their horizons and befriending real people. I don’t know for sure but I suspect this is because Facebook knows that any account with no friends is likely to be a zombie, and will delete it.
So how do I tell?
Normally I’d say ‘of course you can tell who your friends are’ and I’m always careful to only add people I know personally, but I belong to a few clubs where people know me through my writing more than I know them. Here’s a few tips to spotting the zombies
1. They have a ridiculously good looking photo. My friends are a good looking bunch, but I’m sure I’d remember meeting Gisele Bundchen, OK?
2. They have no friends, or you have no common friends with them
3. They only have male friends. See point 1- it’s much more likely that a female Facebook zombie with a pretty photo will get a few guys to accept a friend request, don’t be surprised if your mates fall for this
4. They have a familiar sounding name, but you don’t immediately recognise them. That’s by design of course
5. You can also check out their jobs, where they live and other details to see whether they actually exist
6. They’ve ‘liked’ more stuff than is humanly possible. but don’t post much if at all
So why did I bother writing this post? Because people are still getting caught out! Granted they are mostly men who have loads of acquaintances- DJ’s, promoters etc.
Remember! Accepting friend requests from people you don’t know can have consequences, like these spammers suddenly filling up your wall with special offers on stuff you don’t want, or don’t approve of.
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Adam is a 20+ year veteran of the Apple market. He is one of the most highly qualified Apple technical specialists in Australia. You can read more about him here or check out his Google+ profile-
Adam Connor
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