Met someone online? How to prevent Facebook crimes

MANILA, Philippines – Facebook has figured in crime news lately as some victims reportedly met their assailants on the popular social networking site.

But an information technology (IT) expert said Facebook is not the only playground of bad elements. Criminals are everywhere.

“If they don’t take advantage of somebody through Facebook, they can take advantage of somebody by bumping into them in the MRT, LRT, bus, market, whatever it is,” said Manuel Alcuaz, president of Systems Science Consult.

So, one must be careful and not let his or her guard down whether on Facebook or elsewhere, he said.

“You have to use the same caution when you are on Facebook [as when you are in other places]. So when you’re on Facebook and someone wants to meet you, be careful where you’re going to meet that person. When someone [you met through the cellphone wants to meet you], you also have to be careful about meeting. Women have to be careful,” said Alcuaz on radio dzMM’s show “Tambalang Failon at Webb” on Tuesday.

Facebook and other social networking sites like Tagged allow people to meet other people, he said. Making new friends is so easy.

Sad to say, though, there is no security measure or application that will verify the identity of a person, said Alcuaz, other than personally conducting an investigation.

How to minimize danger

People can adopt these steps, however, to minimize the danger of meeting criminals on the networking site, as shared by Alcuaz:

1. Set your data settings to private. With this setting, only your friends and those you allow to be your friends will be able to see more information about you.

2. Don’t believe everything a person says, especially if you have just met each other online. “Be a really good psychologist,” Alcuaz said, as a person may be claiming things that are far from the truth.

3. When setting an eyeball or a meeting between you and a person you have just met online, bring a chaperone.

4. Go to Facebook or the social networking site where you met and check out the friends of this person. Ask if they know this person well.

5. When chatting with a new friend on Facebook, find out more details about him. “In your conversation, instead of just conversing about the latest movies, et cetera, try to find out where he studied, who his classmates are,” Alcuaz said. “If he is really a fake, he will not be able to invent these right away. He cannot invent his high school class. Very few people can invent everything.”

By asking about his life, you will also be able to find a link or a common friend.

6. As in courtship, investigate the background of a person. Find out what you can. –Karen Galarpe, abs-cbnNEWS.com