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Federal Bureau of Investigation agents said the public should be aware of an increased number of hijacked social networking accounts.

“No, your social networking ‘friend' isn't really in trouble overseas,” according to FBI supervisory agent Jason Pack.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center has received more than 3,000 reports of account hijackings since 2006.

One of the more popular scams involves online criminals planting malicious software and code into a victim's computer, and it sometimes starts by opening a spam e-mail, according to Pack.

When the spam is opened, it allows cyber intruders to steal passwords for any account on the computer, including social networking sites. The intruders then change the passwords and eventually send out distress messages to friends on social networking sites, requesting money, claiming they are in some sort of legal or medical trouble.

Infected users are often unknowingly spreading malware by having links to infected Web sites posted on their Web page without the user's knowledge.

Since the e-mail or video link appears to be endorsed by a friend, social networking contacts are more likely to click on these links, according to officials.

To avoid being hijacked, Pack offered some tips:

Adjust Web site privacy settings. Some networking sites have provided useful options to assist in adjusting settings to help protect your identity.

Be selective when adding friends. Once added, contacts can access any information marked as viewable by all friends.
Limit access to your profile to only those contacts you trust with your personal information.

Disable options, such as photo sharing, which you might not regularly use. You can always enable these options later.

Be careful where you click. Just because someone posts a link or video to their wall does not mean it is safe.

Familiarize yourself with the security and privacy settings and learn how to report a compromised account.

Each social networking site may have different procedures on how to handle a hijacked or infected account. You may want to reference their help or frequently-asked-questions page for instructions.