Here’s yet another example of spammers and phishers going off the traditional path to try a new bag of tricks. Fortunately, this one didn’t work. Alley Insider carried a fascinating account and transcription of an IM discussion, where a Nigerian hacker was able to pose as a Facebook user’s friend and initiate an online conversation. In the course of the conversation, the hacker initially tricked the victim into believing he was in fact, somebody he knew, and then proceeded to tell the victim that he was “stranded in London,” having fallen victim to a robbery, and needed money to get back home.

According to a response from Facebook, this sort of thing doesn’t happen very often, but nonetheless it’s important to be aware of. If you get an unexpected IM from a friend, or an unexpected email for that matter, claiming that they are in trouble and need money, stop and think before you make that trip to Western Union. Maybe like me, all your friends are deadbeats, and such a request wouldn’t be entirely out of character. Even so, I’d want some sort of validation. Facebook recommends that if you get a request for money from what appears to be a friend or relative, try to get some sort of validation outside of the web; for example, make a phone call directly to that person, or to a mutual acquaintance. Also, pay close attention to the words sent by the alleged friend. Is the text out of character? Is the IM or email using words or phrases that your friend normally wouldn’t use? In the case reported on Alley Insider, the victim got suspicious after a short while, and asked his correspondent, “What was the name of our high school mascot?” Busted!