To start with let’s start with, it may sometime come to your notice that some profile in your name and having all the details which you provide on your page. I remember last time a friend of mine called me and asked me did I send him a facebook request. I said no, but indeed someone has sent him friendship request with the same profile page I have. This is facebook cloning scm,

What is facebook cloning scam?

Facebook clone a form of social cloning scam in which the identity theft of a user profile happens. The scammer takes all your personal details like your profile picture, your date of birth and any other personal pictures that you might have shared socially. The scammer will take advantage of all your public information available online and create a new facebook account in your name and same profile information.

In most cases the cloned account created will use the same name (or a close version) and send friend requests to the targeted person's friends.

Currently you can see online many of the famous personalities account has been created with the same name or with little change of names.

Many of the Facebook friend requests often comes from actual friends, but many are from anonymous people and we can never know the  motives behind sending us the friend request. Falling for their tricks might cost you. You may accept or reject the friend ship request, but often you don’t know is it the actual friend who you knew during your college time, but you accepts.

Many of the hackers using this tactics know as Facebook cloning. They steal your Facebook profile name; they add your friends and use your photos to clone your account. They use the cloned account to approach your friends and family online.

How to prevent facebook cloning

In order to prevent yourself from public cloning have a check on you profile security settings. Check what information of you is available and is set as public sharing. The more the number of photos and other personal details shared online, the more chances of your account to be cloned by someone and used to gain access to your other friends and relatives personal information.

Though it is not very easy to remove the risk of facebook cloning, but by doing some security updates in your facebook profile and friends list, you can limit the intrusion into your personal privacy and being cloned by someone.

 How to set your facebook security, the steps you can take is

1. Hide your Friends list: this is the basic and first step in making the limit of people who can see your profile page. Hiding your friends list can help to thwart clone scammers.
2. Avoid Public Settings on Personal Profiles
3. How to Report Fake and Cloned Accounts

If you already know that your account has been hacked and cloned, than you can refort as fake to facebook. When you visit the user profile page, than on the top right corner just beside the message down, click on the … link. You will further get a Menu link for Report, Click here and report to facebook.