Episode 19: Fraping

A ‘Frape‘ occurs when someone accesses a social media account without permission and performs malicious actions such as changing the profile of the business, opening hours and contact details, deleting comments or pictures, or creating new or offensive comments and pictures pretending to be you.

The classic victim of fraping is a regular Facebook user who does not log out of a Facebook account and leaves the computer unattended, thus giving others access to personal pages.

To avoid being fraped it is recommended that social media users:

1. Ensure that social media accounts are always logged off after use on laptops and desktops;
2. Periodically check access rights on their social media pages;
3. Never leave devices unattended;
4. Set up a ‘standby’ password for smartphones and tablets – where the device requires a password or pin code for access if it is not used for more than a few minutes;