A message that is spreading rapidly on Facebook warns users not to accept a friendship request from a person named Sherman Stuurman because he is a hacker.
According to the message, the hacker has his system connected to your Facebook account. And, warns the message, if one of your friends accepts Sherman Stuurman’s friend request, you will also be hacked.
The message asks you to send the information to all of your friends so they will know about the supposed hacker.
However, the claims in the post are utter nonsense and should not be taken seriously.
In fact, the message is just one more version of the long-running “friendship request” hacker hoax. There have been dozens of versions of this hoax that use different names for the supposed hackers. All of these hoaxes are equally nonsensical.
As I note in more detail in another Hoax-Slayer report, it is not possible for a hacker to take control of your account just because you accept a friend request.
If you receive one of these hoaxes, please do not share it with your friends. Sending on such fake warnings will do nothing whatsoever to help keep you or your friends safe online. And, since these hoaxes often use the names of real people, they can unfairly damage the reputations of ordinary Facebook users who have done nothing wrong.
If this hoax hits your Facebook News Feed, be sure to let the person who posted it know that the hacker warning is false.
An Example of the hoax message:
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
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
