HOW TO AVOID TAG JACKING SCAMS

Usually only friends can tag friends on Facebook. 


But this is not true when you're a member in a Facebook group because any member can tag and be tagged in a group setting. 


To double check me to see if the tag works, the next time you are in one of your groups, try tagging a group member who is not on your friends list to see if this proves out. I assure you that it does.


Scammers are annoying; there's no doubt about it. They have lots of tools at their disposal. They can also be very malicious. 


They use special Apps that can speed-tag photos and posts with 96 names from your friends list in less than 30 seconds. Even if you have 5,000 friends, a Scammer can run through your whole friends list and tag them all in just a minute.  Before you know it, your name and/or your photos are plastered all over Facebook. 




If you had your Facebook settings fixed correctly in the first place, Scammers wouldn't be able to do that.



With the current Facebook version, you cannot disable tagging altogether, unless you unfriend every person on your friends list. Since that defeats the purpose of being on Facebook, the best you can do is to fix your settings to protect the security of your account and to avoid embarrassing situations from randomly showing up on Facebook. 



Nobody likes to be the last to know that their name was tagged on an unflattering post or embarrassing photo. 




Don't say it can't happen to you, because it can.


If you leave your privacy settings set on Facebook's default (Friends) OR if your settings are not set the right way to protect yourself and your account information, you are vulnerable to Tag Jacking.  And sometimes even worse.




Facebook's default is not in your best interests. 

It is in Facebook's best interests.

They fix the settings to promote frequent interaction with your present friends and to help you make new connections.  Facebook will do this any way they can, so it behooves you to cut them off at the pass so things are visible only to those of your own choosing.  


This post will show you how to fix your settings correctly. 



This post is extremely detailed because there are Facebook users who understand better by following step by step directions.  



When you get done following these directions, your Facebook account will be more secure than it is now.





1. Click the down arrow in the top right hand corner of your Facebook and select "Settings."

Figure 1.

2. Locate “Timeline and Tagging” in the left sidebar and click the link  “Edit Settings.” 

This screen shows where you should be.

Figure 2. Click to enlarge

3. The first setting "Who can post on my timeline" should be set to ONLY ME. 

Here's why:
For most Facebook users using an up-to-date version of Facebook, this setting removes the Status Box from the top of your timeline. Anyone looking at your timeline won't see a status box. You can, but they can't. Without a Status Box, tag jackers cannot make a new post on your timeline, or tag names on your friends list, or post a photo that might have some embarrassing consequences.  It also disables your friends from being able to leave you notes on your timeline. Let them use Messenger, keep your timeline closed to everyone.

Figure 3 - Click to enlarge

For mobile users and those who are using an older version of Facebook, they can still see the Status Box. It will stay in place and it can be typed on, but once the person hits ENTER or POST, it's gone. If your settings are set as described in this post, the message they wrote in the status box won't reappear on your timeline until you approve the post or tag.



This setting is the reason why you don't see a Status Box at the top of someone's account when you are looking at their Facebook timeline. It is also why friends will use the comments of any post to write something to get the user's attention.

Figure 4 - click to enlarge

The only way to be in control of your account is to fix this setting to ONLY ME.




4. Who can see what OTHERS post on your timeline?  

Again, set this to ONLY ME. You don't need others to see what is posted on your timeline before you do. 

Figure 5- click to enlarge

This setting doesn't mean that no one will ever be able to see your timeline or what other people post. 



It means you have to approve it first before it appears on your timeline.  More on that setting as you read on.



5. Hide comments containing certain words from your timeline.

In the example below, this is set to OFF, which means all words and emojis are allowed to appear on the timeline and in comments of the posts and shares.  

Figure 6 - click to enlarge

This is a Personal Preference and is meant to give your Facebook friends a sort of  'freedom of speech' to allow them to use good or bad language and/or emojis.  


If you want to allow your friends to comment and post using bad language or bawdy emojis, that's your personal preference. 


Like Cally says, it's your page, you decide what can be posted on it. 


The next example shows you what happens when you change it to ON.





6. If you were to change this setting to ON, you would type in the words, phrases, or emojis that you do NOT want to see on your timeline when friends comment on your timeline posts. Separate each one with a comma, click ADD, and SAVE CHANGES.

Figure 7 - click to enlarge

The "ON setting" shelters you from seeing the words, phrases and emojis that you selected, but it doesn't deprive others.   Only the posting person and friends will be able to see them - but not you.

 




7. Who can see posts that you are tagged in - on or off your own timeline?



This is one of Facebook's kindergarten settings.  It removes or delays another person's instant gratification so they can't immediately see the results of their tagging efforts.


This is also one of the most important settings on Facebook that you have in your control. 


It is your first line of defense when Scam Taggers and robo-taggers are busy ripping through an "exposed" friends lists doing mass tagging.  

Figure 8 - click to enlarge

It has to be set to ONLY ME to avoid mass tagging.  



If a name can't be seen on friends lists, it can't be selected for tagging.  





The ONLY ME setting also removes your name from the unique list of names that is shown on the tagging screen. It takes away the tagger's instant gratification of seeing their tagging handiwork at the moment they posted because he won't see anything.




As with many other privacy settings, this is another reason why your Friends List should also be set to ONLY ME. This setting hides the majority of your friends and only reveals the names of your Mutual Friends that you have in common with the person who is viewing your Friends List.  



You will always see all the names on your own friends list. You can't double check the setting on your own.  To ensure the setting is done correctly, you need someone to look at your friends list from the outside.  If they can only see the names of the friends they have in common with you, then it is set correctly.






Even if anyone manually tags your name on a post or comment, they won't be able to see it on your timeline because you have your Tag Review setting to ONLY ME.   




All tags sit under the TAG REVIEW section until you get to it. Whether you are at work for a 12 hour shift or on vacation for two weeks, it will sit in Tag Review section until you Approve it - if  you approve it. 




Once you approve the tag, it will appear on the designated spot, with the time and date stamp of when it was originally created.  



Then the other settings will kick in at that time - for example: 1) Who can 'see' what others post on your timeline? Because you approved the Tag, now the posts can be seen. 

8. When you are tagged in a post, who do you want to add to the audience of who sees the post?

This setting does not pertain to posts that you yourself post on your own timeline where you want to set a certain privacy or to tag specific people on the post, as shown in this example.

Figure 9

This setting pertains only to the posts that your name is tagged on that were made by others -  and posted either on their own timeline or on yours.   

Figure 10 - click to enlarge

To be clear - if someone tags your name, with or without a bunch of other people, the post won't appear on your timeline no matter what the chosen audience was because your Tag Review settings take priority.  

If someone posts on their own timeline and tagged you with a bunch of other people, their post will still appear on their timeline, along with all of the other tagged names who do not have Tag Review set up on their Facebook account. However your name will not appear until you approve it via Tag Review.  

This is where your settings come into play regarding Tag Jacking.  

One more example: If there is a post from a Tag Jacker who made 25 picture posts and tagged 96 people on each post, this ONLY ME setting takes your name out of the mix until you can approve it using Tag Review.  

Decline it, remove the tag, and it will be like you were never tagged in the first place.

9. When you are tagged in a post, who do you want to add to the audience of who sees the post?

To answer the question, we have to ask a question: 

Why would you want to add the names of your friends to be able to see someone else's post that you are tagged on - before you yourself had a chance to see it or to decide its approval?  

We recommend ONLY ME setting here because we don't feel that adding names to anyone's audience is a good idea.  It singles those friends out for ALL posts - both good and bad - because the setting  cannot be made selective to one post.    

Figure 11 shows you the choices on the drop down menu  IF you decide not to use the ONLY ME setting.  

  

Figure 11

If you are someone who lets it all hang out and don't care who reads stuff about you, you can set it to FRIENDS. 


But if you have a select few whom you share inside jokes with, you can Customize this setting by choosing the names of those preferred Friends. 

This is NOT creating a tag.  This is selecting a privacy for a specific audience - just like you would select the privacy of a post you are writing on your timeline.  

This is another layer on the same setting meant to confuse the user. It's Facebook double-speak.  

You have already covered this by selecting ONLY ME in the section "who can see posts you are tagged on" - which stays at ONLY ME until after your approval.  

  

You never want to add names to Custom or leave it at Friends because if it is an embarrassing post, you will be thankful that you chose ONLY ME on this section and didn't allow the post to advertise your embarrassment. 

  

We don't advise any of the drop down menu choices, because with Facebook being as fickle as it is, adding anyone's name to the audience of who SEES the post adds their names to ALL posts, not just one.  If not done correctly, this may also tag them in addition to the other tagged names on any post.  

So the choice you make on this selection is important. 

We advise that the ONLY ME setting is the only safe choice.  You can always "manually" add names to individual posts by clicking EDIT and then Tag Friends. This gives you more control over what posts they are tagged on. 

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