Not too long ago I met a couple caught in the web of a 419 scam.

Their “grandson” called saying he was stranded in a foreign country and needed several thousand dollars to get home. They wired the money.

Then they learned their grandson was not stranded overseas, but safe at home in Oklahoma. Because the money was sent via a wire service, there was no way to get it back.

And now the 419 scam — named after the criminal code for fraud in Nigeria, where many scams originate — has moved on to social media sites. In particular, Facebook.

The FBI, in issuing a warning on Oct. 1, noted that one of the more popular scams involves online criminals planting malicious software and code onto victim computers. It starts by someone opening a spam e-mail, sometimes from another hijacked friend’s account. When opened, the spam allows the cyber intruders to steal passwords for any account on the computer, including social networking sites.

Thieves then change the user’s passwords and eventually send out distress messages claiming they are in some sort of legal, medical or financial peril and requesting money from their social networking contacts. Check out this real-life hacker chat posted by Facebook on its security page.

The BBB advises that you play it safe with these tips from the FBI:

    ?    Adjust Web site privacy settings. Some networking sites provide 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, that you might not regularly use. You can always enable these options later.

    ?    Be careful what you click on. Just because someone posts a link or video to their wall does not mean it’s 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; therefore, you may want to reference its help or FAQ page for instructions.

If your account has been hijacked or infected, report it to by visiting www.ic3.gov or www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com. Your BBB has additional tips and information for staying safe online.