Why you should ignore the Jayden K Smith Facebook warning

The message reads: "Please tell all the contacts in your Messenger list, not to accept Jayden K. Smith friendship requests. Photo / Getty

Facebook users are being duped into circulating a hoax message warning them not to accept friend requests from an account called Jayden K Smith.

The message, being sent via Facebook Messenger, warns that the account is a hacker who "has the system connected to your Facebook account".

Well-meaning users are sharing the message widely, but as with most viral Facebook posts, the message is a hoax. There is no evidence of any account with the name Jayden K Smith going on sprees of adding users, and even if there were, they would not be able to hack into an account just by becoming a friend.

Homeland Security reports they have identified hacker Jayden K Smith pic.twitter.com/XyqNBtVi4b

— Neil Carter (@godlessindixie) July 10, 2017

Mass friend requests to unknown users is also against Facebook's terms and conditions regarding spam, so any such account would probably be quickly dealt with.

This hasn't stopped the message gaining widespread traction online. It reads: "Please tell all the contacts in your Messenger list, not to accept Jayden K Smith friendship request. 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."

The message is a common hacker warning that often gets recycled online, with different variations of the name. Others include Anwar Jitou, Tanner Dwyer and Bobby Roberts. The message does contain many of the elements of a viral hoax: a sensational warning, the prospect of devastating consequences, and a prompt to share it widely.

The unfortunate accounts that happen to be called Jayden K Smith have now been given their 15 minutes of internet fame.

Right. Now its time to send some friend requests ...

Posted by Brian Kirkwood on Monday, 10 July 2017

Scam messages easily take hold on facebook. Two common other versions warn that all your photos will be made public unless you share a message opting out of the feature and another saying that Facebook will start charging for the service unless you confirm you want it for free.