3 Things to Check Before Accepting Friend Requests
It only took one rushed tap to regret it. A profile with three mutuals, a friendly “Hey, we met at that event, right?” message, and I hit accept. Two days later, my inbox filled with phishing links. That’s when I built a tiny, repeatable filter: three quick checks before saying yes to anyone online. If you’ve ever accepted a request because “we had a few mutual friends,” this guide is for you. Short, practical, and designed to be used on the go. Table of Contents Why Slowing Down Matters The 3 Checks at a Glance Check 1 — Identity Signals Check 2 — Activity & History Check 3 — Privacy Scope & Risk Real vs Fake Profile Quick Contrast (Table) Why Slowing Down Matters Friend requests are not harmless. They’re tiny doors to your private life. Accepting the wrong one can expose your photos, your family, your employer, and your location. Worse, it can make you a stepping stone in a social engineering chain—someone pretends to ...