A warning is spreading online that warns readers not to accept a Facebook user named Sherman Stuurman because he is a hacker that will hack your account if either you or one of your contacts accepts him as a friend.
An example of the warning as it appeared on Facebook can be seen below –
Please tell all the contacts in your messenger list not to accept friendship request from sherman stuurman . 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. Forwarded as received.
Hold your finger down on the message. At the bottom in the middle it will say forward. Hit that then click on the names of those in your list and it will send to them THIS Is REAL
Our regular readers will know that this is just the latest example in the never-ending string of phantom Facebook hackers that don’t really exist. As is typical with this brand of hoax, the warning is identical to past versions of the same hoax with only the name changed. Other than the name of the hacker, the warning is literally verbatim to previous false warnings.
It is likely such hoaxes start out as jokes or pranks between friends, and while most fail to escape the confines of a friend circle, others do manage to spread virally and users not in on the joke spread them as if they were genuine warnings, which they are certainly not.
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Over the years, dozens of near identical hoaxes have gone viral with various names attached, including Fabrizio Brambilla and Jayden K Smith (in fact we keep a list for those that like to keep score.) As we have pointed out numerous times on this site, accepting a friend request cannot automatically provide a “hacker” with access to your account; such warnings are just nonsensical drivel.
It is true that we don’t recommend adding strangers on Facebook as this certainly can put your privacy at risk, but this does not mean the above warning is accurate at all. It’s really not.
There is no hacker called Sherman Stuurman, though it is inevitable that accounts will spring up in that name as this hoax spreads virally. This doesn’t mean those accounts belong to hackers, however. Please stop spreading these types of hoaxes. They’re simply untrue.