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Throughout the pandemic, we have been blessed to have access to communication apps that allow us to reach out to our loved ones for updates. At the same time, a lot of applications now have even allowed us to send financial help and other resources without having to leave the comforts of our own home.
But the more we communicate online for updates and news, oftentimes we receive messages from unknown contact details asking us to send money or with mysterious messages that make us think if the information is real or not. These are just some of the techniques used by scammers everywhere.
As a response to this, Facebook has resolved to add two new warning tools designed to protect users from scams and unwanted attention which aims to focus on increasing protection for minors within the Facebook app.
Facebook’s newest safety notice within Messenger streams will seek to help users identify when they may be interacting with potential scammers.
According to Facebook: "We’re introducing safety notices in Messenger that will pop up in a chat and provide tips to help people spot suspicious activity and take action to block or ignore someone when something doesn’t seem right."
For example, when a user accepts a chat request from someone they are not connected with, Facebook’s machine learning system will use a series of signals to detect whether the discussion is suspicious or not then it will provide a warning prompt if the parameters are met. Those parameters could consist of the user sending out a lot of messages to different people they've not interacted with before such as specific keywords within threads, and more. Moreover, these factors will focus more on minors’ interactions in the Messenger app.
As for Facebook’s Messenger security capabilities, it has special protections included for minors which will limit contact from adults they aren’t connected to. However, the feature will seek more to educate people under the age of 18 to be guarded and provide immediate action before responding to a message.
Another feature from Facebook is adding new warnings to help users identify potential imposters in their message streams.
Communicating with unknown people is rampant on Facebook. Even creating a specific warning tool is much needed because people will imitate others the best they can online in order to worm into their networks for malicious purposes.
During the pandemic as well, it was seen that there was a significant increase in the number of fake accounts on Facebook - totaling to about 5% of total Facebook users! This may seem low - but in proper perspective in terms of Facebook's total scale, 5% equates to some 125 million active fake profiles on the platform at present.
Right now it seems difficult to lower the rate of fake users given that bots are now being used to duplicate existing profiles, so Facebook has to work double time at blocking fakes as early as the sign-up stage.
The new warning tools created by Facebook may possibly prove very beneficial - and beyond immediate action, they may also prompt more users to approach such with added uncertainty in the future, cultivating digital literacy.
In summary, people ought to be able to communicate securely and privately with friends and loved ones without anyone listening to or monitoring their conversations. These new tools created by Facebook are just some innovative features that we hope will add more security not just to all Facebook users but especially to businesses communicating with their customers via Facebook. Allow your customers to get in touch with you through different platforms such as Social Media, Email or Website Chat. Show your customers that you are available online any time of the day. We can help you start your business’ journey online. Drop us a message at https://www.irepublic.ph/contact.
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