The battle between Facebook users and the crooks and hackers just keeps rolling along. The criminals love these social networking sites because they can hijack the identity of a person known or trusted by you to attempt a fraud. The goal, as always, is to relieve you of your money or identity, or both.

The latest fraud involves the so-called Nigerian 419 scam, but with a twist. Instead of getting an email from someone in Nigeria offering you money, you receive an email from someone you know. The message says the person is stranded in Lagos, Nigeria, so please send money so he can return home.

You may be tempted to send the cash, but be careful. This is probably a fraud. Your friend’s email account may have been hijacked, and the message is being sent to all his contacts. It is very easy to fake a return address in an email.

Read the message carefully. Are there any grammar or spelling mistakes? Improper usage of slang or popular terms? Would your friend really send such a message to you? Think twice, or more, before responding.

Most social networking sites are vulnerable to this kind of attack. As I have said many times, minimize the amount of personal information you reveal in your profile. Check what your kids are revealing in their own profiles.