The warning, making the rounds on Facebook Messenger, claims that a person named Jayden K. Smith is sending out friend requests and will be able to hack into the accounts of any users who accept.
“Please tell all the contacts in your messenger list not to accept Jayden K. Smith friendship request,” the message says. “He is a hacker and has the system connected to your Facebook account. If one of your contacts accepts it, you will also be hacked, so make sure that all your friends know it. Thanks.”
The warning is just the latest in a hoax that has persisted for years, according to the urban legend and internet rumor debunking Snopes.com.
“Variants of these messages are circulated endlessly, with different names swapped in and out as various pranksters decide to play jokes on people they know by inserting their acquaintances’ names and addresses into the warning in place of the existing information,” according to Snopes.
ThatsNonsense.com, another anti-internet scam website, said that simply adding someone as a friend on Facebook will not compromise your accounts. It's recommended that people do not add friends if they are strangers.
The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.
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