Beware of Facebook Scams

Today I had my first experience with a Facebook scam.  The scammer used a friend's account to start a chat with me.  They asked how I was doing and when I asked them the same they said they weren't doing to well "as of late".  They proceeded  to tell me they had gone to the UK for a short vacation and were robbed at gunpoint.  All cash and credit cards were stolen.  When I asked if their passports were stolen as well they said no.  They then proceeded to ask me for $ to help get home.  I was very suspicious for several reasons:

1. A short vacation in the UK?   This time of year tickets to the UK are over $1000...not very likely you would spend that for a "short" vacation...especially when you have 3 kids.
2. My friend wouldn't have used the term "as of late" in a Facebook chat...a bit too formal in my opinion.
3. The passport thing bothered me.  I am a seasoned world traveler and I know that you only carry a copy of your passport around with you while out an about abroad.  The actual passport should be kept in a secure place like the hotel safe.  Unfortunately most tourists don't realize this and they carry their passports with them at all times.  A thief who is robbing tourists would most certainly have taken the passports too.
4. This particular friend wouldn't come to me for money because we are (a) not that close and (b) they know I'm not rolling in the dough.

I ended the chat and immediately tried to post on my friends wall, but the person was blocking wall posts.  I sent her an email and let her know what was going on and advised her to change her password and update her privacy settings.

The world is a much smaller and more interesting place thanks to the world of social media, but it as a result these criminals have even more ways to manipulate people.  Everyone should be on alert for these types of scams.  Don't fall for it!  Facebook Security has information on their security page: http://www.facebook.com/teyaking/posts/181716915178050#!/security 
Stay safe out there in cyberspace my friends.