Girl killed in Nigeria by Facebook 'friends'
By laydee
@laydee (12798)
Philippines
October 25, 2012 2:38am CST
I saw in CNN earlier that a girl was abducted, robbed and killed by two 'friends' in Facebook. Reports said that they be-friended the girl through the social networking site and promised to help her with her business (she was a business owner and a graduate student) and talked a lot through the site.
It got me thinking that we are all potentially victims of these types of people. We feed them with free information about us, our whereabouts and our information (family, work, etc.) through the social networking site. Though I mostly add people that I know personally, how sure are we that they really are those guys? I mean, we are barely in contact with our friends (apart from the site) and we barely really talk to them offline. So, how sure are we that the people we're "adding" in our sites are really safe?
What do you think?
2 people like this
13 responses
@vidhyaprakash_2 (7116)
• India
25 Oct 12
Hi friend, sad to hear about this. Hope her soul will RIP, we must be very careful while giving our information to unknown persons. Particularly girls must don't believe this kind of strangers and never go to meet them to avoid this kind of unwanted issues
2 people like this
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
The kids are most vulnerable online. I think it's really important that parents know what they kids are doing and should be open to knowing these things as well. It's not enough that we work hard for the money, we should learn to be parents too - to guide them and to make them understand the dangers of what they say to strangers.
I actually could imagine my brothers laughing at my parent's paranoia about these kids of stuff, I guess regardless of the laughs, it's better that we tell them these things instead of being sorry.
Thanks for the response guys, have a great mylot experience ahead!
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
25 Oct 12
I see many kids in my cafe, you get into other peoples facebook accts. I have no idea how- but once in, the post all kinds of bad things.
1 person likes this
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
25 Oct 12
I do not like Facebook, one of the reasons is that I couldn't compete for my friends time, they would rather spend all their time on Facebook than be with me! The other is that all your information is accessible to scammers and I have heard so many reports of people's facebook accounts being hacked into. Some people treat Facebook like their diary and post intimate stuff, photos etc. It's quite scary if you think about it. Then there is cyber bullying as well, people posting on other people's facebook pages etc... Technology is not always a good thing. We have to be extra vigilant and becareful what we post or do on line.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
25 Oct 12
I have never had a fb acct. I really dont think I need one.
1 person likes this
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
I think it doesn't only happen in Facebook. We're also vulnerable here in Mylot since a lot people could go stalking us if we're going to divulge some personal information here - even our photos or names.
I think we should be extra vigilant in whatever comment or discussion we post and of course, make sure that we don't trust anyone just because we're friends in mylot. You never know the intentions of people around here, or in any social sites for the matter.
It's just sad that there are a lot of people who do these stuff - well I'm not just talking about killing, but also scamming people into giving their information. I guess it just proves that though the earth has a lot of people in it, we're still not safe from loneliness. And these types of people thrive from us being lonely.
Keep safe guys. Thanks for the response, have a great mylot experience ahead!
@jazel_juan (15746)
• Philippines
25 Oct 12
i guess we are not really at all safe in the internet, it is a matter of how we disclose information, a matter of how are share information... that is why we must always be careful anywhere actually.
1 person likes this
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
18 Nov 12
True. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom (as one of our local radio station would say). The problem here is that most of those targeted are those who are not informed or naive.
Indeed it's high time parents would really be parents and look into the activities of their children and good friendship means telling your real friends your activities just to be safe.
Have a great mylot experience ahead!
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
25 Oct 12
That's why , i am very private when in Facebook. I don't add friends that i really have no idea who he really is.
A lot of crimes has been done emanating from just being friends in facebook. I really hope that people will learn their lessons from news like that.
1 person likes this
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
It's just sad that mostly young people are vulnerable to these predators since they're the ones with nerves of steel (almost to the point of stupidity) and are the ones with lesser experience thus becoming a little bit to the "gullible" side.
I guess we need to remind the teens these days that talking to strangers is still something that we shouldn't do. Further, I think strong family connections is important as well. Parents need to know more about their kids and be more aware of the activities of their kids. The victim was a grad student, but it just shows that it's never too late to be "close" to your family members.
Thanks for the response, have a great mylot experience ahead!
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
29 Oct 12
I agree. Some people specially teenagers can be so naive & gullible, that they always fall as prey to those predators on the internet. Sad but it is true.
@Raine38 (12389)
• United States
25 Oct 12
This is sad, and actually this isn't new. Even though Facebook provides their own security and privacy settings, if we will not exercise caution in whatever we share on social networking sites we can be targeted by any potential loonies out there. It is sad that these people really have no regard for life preservation that even innocent young kids fall prey to their sick and twisted "deeds".
1 person likes this
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
18 Nov 12
The sad part here is the fact that it's isn't something new, therefore, it's happening a lot and we're not doing anything bout it (if perhaps people have been doing something, it obviously isn't enough). I guess being friendly isn't always a good idea then.
Thanks for the response, have a great mylot experience ahead!
@jefflovealan (76)
• China
25 Oct 12
i think people should be more careful when they chat with others online,you will never know what the person really is,and do not expose your private information to others,do not trust other too easily,in a word,be cautious all the time.
1 person likes this
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
I think that's how it should be, bust sadly, with all the people who are "lonely" out there and desperate to have someone to talk to, they'd put themselves in danger before thinking otherwise.
Whew! Let's all be safe people! Thanks for the response, have a great mylot experience ahead!
@lady1993 (27224)
• Philippines
30 Oct 12
I also add only those that i personally know.. And i am sure that it is them since i chat with them sometimes.. and i see their pictures and updates..
But that is a really sad story.. i hope the ones who did that to the girl are caught..and may this also serve as a lesson and a warning to others.
But that is a really sad story.. i hope the ones who did that to the girl are caught..and may this also serve as a lesson and a warning to others.
@jadoixa (1166)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
yes, it is really hard to trust people online and also we should be careful in putting all information on our profile, we should not put everything on there. we should also consider privacy,.nowadays criminals are on facebook and they are using social networking sites to get potential victims, so we should always be careful. just add people we truly know personally and keep profiles private or put privacy in it that the public or any strangers will not be able to access all information. or don't talk to strangers, some of them seem nice and trustful online but in person we can never tell what they can do to us.
@mikyung (2232)
• Philippines
25 Oct 12
I feel bad about learning this news. I hope things will be resolve and justice will reign. I have seen a lot of crimes that started in Facebook. In fairness, with FB that it made things narrower and better. I hope those crimes will be resolve in due time for it destroys the image of this good site. Lets reamin to be vgilant nowadays. Thanks
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
25 Oct 12
Facebook is bad news in my book. You never really know who you are chatting with there, or giving info. to.
@arielpaige (257)
• United States
25 Oct 12
That is so crazy to think about. While I personally NEVER give away personal information to strangers over the internet, or people I hardly know, I will give information to class mates, friend's boyfriends, boyfriend's friends, coworkers, etc. Basically to people I know, but probably not as well as I should for giving away personal information. This is not something I do often, usually only when I know the person enough to trust they are okay and won't rape or kidnap or kill or stalk me. I usually am very cautious about what I put online, who I talk to, and what I say. I almost never give away my cell number unless it's someone I've known for a while and know very well and trust. And very few of my real friends even know my address. Haha. But you are right. We do not know everyone we talk to online as well as we should, especially coworkers, classmates, mutual friends, etc. And that's crazy to think that something like that could happen to us.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
25 Oct 12
you cannot take fb away from people. crimes have been committed by people meeting and chatting up on the streets. fb is just a new way to meet up friends and chat up strangers, as is every social networking site, even mylot.com. you just have to be very careful. no matter how private you want to be, a determined person reading your status updates can get to your information; it is only a matter of time. btw, do not chat with strangers you do not like and if you are bored and can chat with a stranger, take a second to go through his updates. there could be telling or warning signs about the person who he/she is.
