Jayden K Smith Facebook Hacker In Cahoots With Trump And Putin’s ‘Cyber Security Unit,’ Twitter Users Claim

Facebook users circulated a message to friends Monday that warned others not to accept requests from anyone named “Jayden K. Smith.” That’s because the account apparently contained a virus. While people had good intentions by sharing the message, it was nothing more than a hoax. There is no virus associated with the name “Jayden K. Smith.” There was no evidence that the anonymous Smith was hacking into Facebook accounts just by becoming a friend.

Still, the message went viral and it still being spread. “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,” the message reads. “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.” It adds: “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.”

READ: Facebook Privacy Policy Changes? Don’t Fall For The Hoax Again

The real victim in this event was anyone named Jayden K. Smith. “Why are people persecuting me?!” one person asked. “Right. Now it’s time to send some friend requests...” another joked.

On Twitter Monday, people who knew that Jayden K. Smith hoax was fake quickly poked fun. Some claimed Jayden K. Smith, whoever he might be, was leading the new cybersecurity team for President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some of their posts have been shared below:

Monday was not the first time a hoax went viral on Facebook. In 2015, a viral message claimed Facebook was changing its privacy policy. At the time, the note looked something like this:

“Better safe than sorry is right. Channel 13 News was just talking about this change in Facebook's privacy policy. Better safe than sorry. As of September 26th , 2015 at 01:16 a.m. Eastern standard time, I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, or posts, both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute). NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tactically allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates. DO NOT SHARE. You MUST copy and paste.”

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The message wasn’t new, and had been circulated by users for years. “We have noticed some statements that suggest otherwise, and we wanted to take a moment to remind you of the facts: When you post things like photos to Facebook, we do not own them,” Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said in a statement last year. “Under our terms, you grant Facebook permission to use, distribute and share the things you post, subject to the terms and applicable privacy settings.”

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