NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – Child pornography, disturbing images of animals, even accident victims are circulating on Facebook. The pictures are linked through the names of many in your contact list and it’s all the work of hackers.
Facebook was created for you to keep in touch with friends and family. It’s a site for fun and social networking, but over the past few days the networking went haywire.
“It was a girl’s chest from her neck down to her waistline and it just showed, there was no shirt on,” Hampton resident Caitlin said.
“You don’t want to see that right when you open your profile up. There’s no way you cannot see it,” Priscilla Samsilova, of Yorktown, added.
The group Anonymous claims responsibility for the spam. A Youtube video from the group, featuring a disguised voice, said, “Hello, we are Anonymous. As you may have noticed, Facebook has been struck with yet another virus.”
“They have too much time on their hands,” said Detective Dinah Balthis with the Newport News Police Department Special Victims Unit.
Balthis is appalled by the images of child pornography used in the attack and the impact it could have on your children if they see them.
“The kids can be traumatized and think that that’s okay. So when they go out to interact with their classmates or their friends, they may try and act those images out,” Balthis explained.
To protect yourself, Balthis recommends using secure sites, meaning the URL begins with “https”. All you have to do is go to your Facebook page, go to the security tab and click “enable secure browsing.” While there, check the box for login notifications.
“If anybody tries to access your computer Facebook account from a computer you have not used before, you’re going to get an email,” Balthis said.
As for those advertisements on the side of the page, Balthis said don’t touch them. It could be a trap to snag your info and connect you to more spam attacks.
If you’re not sure about a picture or video, don’t click on it or comment. If a site tells you to copy and paste a URL, don’t do it.
Balthis told WAVY.com police across the country, along with Facebook, are trying to identify the hackers. Because they linked child pornography to peoples’ accounts, they could face serious charges. If tried federally and convicted, Balthis said the hackers could face anywhere between five to 60 years in prison.
Article source: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/avoiding-facebook-porn-spam
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