PEOPLE in York are being warned about a scam doing the rounds.

North Yorkshire Police say that over the last couple of weeks they’ve been getting reports of a slightly different Facebook hacking attempt and are warning the public to be on their guard.

A police spokesman said: "People have had their Facebook accounts hacked and then the hackers have been purchasing advertising with any payment methods connected to the account.

"You might have your card details stored on there for making charity donations, purchasing apps, games and add-ons or because you manage advertising on a business page.

"The hackers have then been posting indecent images from the victim’s Facebook profile in order to get the profile banned and removed from the platform – therefore covering their tracks.

"It’s unfortunately a scam which has been catching a few people out so here’s what you can do to protect yourself:

  •  Set up a strong password on your Facebook account. Use three random words and make sure the password is unique to your other online accounts.
  •  Turn on two step verification on your Facebook account.

"And if you think you’ve been hacked and your card details have been compromised, report it to your bank immediately.

"You should then call us on 101 and/or report the hacking to Action Fraud too.

"You can also report the hacking to Facebook.

"Let’s make sure as many people know about this as possible."