According to a warning message that is currently circulating via Facebook, you should not accept a contact request from a person called Anwar Jitou because he is a hacker. Supposedly, the hacker has a computer connected to your Facebook account.
And, claims the message, if one of your friends accepts him, you will also be hacked. The message urges you to share the information with your friends so that they will be warned as well. There are versions of the message in several languages, including Italian, English, and Swedish.
Claims are Nonsense — Just One Among Many Similar Hoaxes
But, the claims in the message are nonsense and should not be taken seriously. In fact, the message is just one in a long series of bogus warnings that have falsely claimed that a hacker can gain access to your computer and accounts just because you accept a friend request.
From time to time, some prankster adds a new name – in this case, Anwar Jitou – to the hoax and launches it anew. Except for the name changes and other minor variations, all of the hoaxes are pretty much the same.
The scenario described in these messages is technically impossible. Of course, hackers certainly do use a range of tactics to trick people into relinquishing access to their accounts. Hackers might, for example, trick you into installing malware that allows them to take control of your computer. Or they might use a phishing attack to trick you into sending them personal information such as usernames and passwords, which would, of course, allow hackers to access your account.
However, even the smartest criminal will not be able to hack your computer just by being added to your contact list. For a hacking attempt to be successful, some sort of file transfer or exchange of information must take place.
Any warning message that claims that simply accepting a friend request will, by itself, give a hacker access to your computer should be regarded as a hoax and should not be shared.
An example of the hoax warning in Engish:
Please tell all the contacts in your list Messenger, not to accept Anwar Jitou contact, a hacker who has a computer connected to your Facebook account. If one of your contact accepts, you will also be hacked, so make sure that all your friends know that. Thanks good evening!!!
An example of the hoax warning in Italian:
Si prega di dire a tutti i contatti della tua lista Messenger, di non accettare il contatto di Anwar Jitou [Anwar Jitu], è un hacker che ha il computer collegato nel tuo account Facebook. Se uno dei tuoi contatti lo accetta, sarai anche hackerato, così fai in modo, che tutti i tuoi amici lo sappiano.
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
