Stolen & fake Facebook accounts being sold

Researchers say phony and stolen Facebook accounts are a cyber-commodity on the black market.

With 400 million users Facebook has faced a number of challenges regarding security.

In a recent statement, VeriSign's iDefense detailed its tracking of the efforts of a hacker with the screen name Kirllos using Russian language to hock 1.5 million Facebook accounts via online black markets. It is believed that Kirllos has already sold about 700,000 accounts so far.

His price varies from $25 to $45 per 1,000 accounts, depending on the number of contacts each user has. This is a bargain for cyber criminals who typically pay $1 to $20 per email login.

Facebook is a favorable target because it generally trusted more than other sites, not to mention the level of detailed personal data the social media giant can reveal. This is information that can be harvested for identity theft.

In one example reported by NYTimes.com, thieves used a Facebook user's account to send a distress message to friends claiming she needed money. One friend wired about $100 to the hackers.

Users can report a hacked account to Facebook here.