'False Friends' use Facebook

In today's mail, my roommate Glix--not to be confused with Blix from "Legend"--got a letter from his parents in which they sent to him a photocopy of an article from the AARP Bulletin regarding the dangers of Facebook, specifically the financial dangers. Feel free to go ahead and read the article HERE.

I'll wait a little while until you're finished. Done? Great! Now, if you're like me you may have gotten one heck of a brain bleed from reading that article. I'm entirely confused on how all of this happened. According to the article Bryan Rutberg's Facebook page got hacked and posted a message saying he needed help. Like any concerned friend, Rutberg's Facebook buddies sent him messages asking what's wrong, to which the hacker replied that he got robbed in London and needed money to get home.

Now all that is fine and good--as far as logicistics go. But here's where the story just goes completely bazonkers crazy. One of his friends actually wired $1200 dollars to Rutberg, which of course the hacker stole. Twelve. Hundred. DOLLARS. Let's break this down, shall we? Friend sees message on Facebook. Friend sends Rutberg a Wall Post asking what happened. Friend contacts Rutberg through e-mail (also hacked) and gets "enough personal details" to convince him the hacker was Rutberg. Friend promptly loses $1200.

Readers, allow me to direct you to this image:

That's a cell phone. I honestly think people need to use it more often. For a long time, I refused to join Facebook because too many people became obsessed with it and only communicated with others through Facebook posts. How does his friend not use their cell phone, or ANY phone really, to call Rutberg and find out if everything is okay? It's become almost terrifying how withdrawn and impersonal we've become as a society. I understand that Facebook serves as an evolution of communication into the digital age; however, I feel it can become a bit of a devolution when people stop talking to each other and just text each other. And while I agree Facebook serves as a way of building professional contacts, don't let it become your sole source of contact.

Anyway, how did this post become a rant on the possible dangers of technology? Before people start suspecting me of following in the footsteps of Ted Kacynski, let me sum up by saying that you should really be careful when it comes to things and call your friends every now and then.