Hi, LT, There's a SnapChat scam that seems to be spreading rapidly through Lincoln's teen population. Short version: if a friend snaps you and asks you to give them the one-time login code for their account from SnapChat, don't do it! The code is actually for your own account and if you give it up, you're giving away your SnapChat account.
Our daughter was tricked this way. Here's how it went down (and what you should be watching out for): our daughter, Julia, got a message via SnapChat from a friend. The message said something like "I got locked out of my account. I'm going to have SnapChat send you a code to let me back in. Send it to me, ok?" A minute later, Julia got a legitimate text from SnapChat with a one-time login code, which she then snapped to her friend. What actually happened behind the scenes was that a hacker had already taken control of the friend's account. The hacker then sent that message to Julia asking for the code. The hacker triggered the text message by attempting to log in to SnapChat and asking SnapChat to do the login using a one-time code. The code was sent to Julia since the account is tied to her phone number. So when Julia gave her friend the code, it was actually a code that let the hacker log into Julia's account, not the friend's account. At that point, the hacker finished signing in to Julia's account, changed her password and recovery info, and locked Julia's phone out. The hacker then proceeded to repeat the same scheme with some of Julia's contacts. Other contacts got a different message, a request for a favor. If they engaged, the hacker asked them to Venmo money for a friend or relative who needed something, usually a medication, with a story about how Julia's credit card wasn't working. If SnapChat (or any company) sends you an authentication code, don't share it with anybody! No matter what you are told by a "friend", that code gives access to your own account, not theirs. I know this sounds obvious, but in the moment, if you've just been primed by a message you think is from a friend you trust, it can be hard to see this scam coming. Tell your kids! Eric
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