BBB Warns: Your Facebook Friends Could Actually be Hackers, Scam Artists, and ID Thieves
FaceBook, one of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet, has become the target for several different phishing scams. Here is brief list of some of the scams you should be on the look-out for:
Friend in Distress:
Scam: Facebook users may receive a message in their inbox from a friend claiming to be in a dire situation — such as stranded in a foreign country — and needing money wired to them. The recipient doesn’t realize that their friend’s account has been hacked and that the message was sent by scammers. The Facebook user has no way of recovering the wired money after they learn that their friend is safe and sound.
Phishing Friends:
One particularly virulent computer virus, called Koobface, has made the rounds via MySpace and Facebook. The victim receives a message from a friend saying “You look awesome in this video” or “You look funny in this video” and includes a link to an outside Web site to view the video. Clicking on the link opens a window that claims the victim needs to download an updated version of Flash. Agreeing to the update installs the virus.
The virus monitors the user’s Internet activity and can potentially steal personal information. Victims have had a difficult time removing the virus and in some cases decided to scrap their computers completely.
Viral Wall Post:
The posts vary, but invariably link to an outside Web site that supposedly has the user’s photos. Facebook warns that clicking on the link allows hackers to gain access to the user’s personal account and post the same message — seemingly coming from the victim — on their friend’s walls.
Some Facebook users checking their accounts Wednesday found odd postings of messages on their “wall” from one of their friends, saying: “lol i can’t believe these pics got posted…. it’s going to be BADDDD when her boyfriend sees these,” followed by what looks like a genuine Facebook link.
But the link leads to a fake Facebook login page hosted on a Chinese .cn domain. The fake page actually logs the victims into Facebook, but also keeps a copy of their user names and passwords.
Soon after, the hackers post messages containing the same URL on the public “walls” of the users’ friends. The technique is a powerful phishing scam, because the link seems to be coming from a trusted friend.
Staying Safe
BBB offers advice for staying safe on social networking sites:
- Be extremely wary of messages from friends or strangers that direct the user to another Web site via a hyperlink.
- Before wiring money to a friend “in a jam,” attempt to contact the friend outside of the social networking site. If that’s not possible, BBB recommends asking a question that only the person would know the answer.
- Make sure the computer’s operating system and antivirus and firewall software are up to date.
- Keep important information private. While some social networking Web sites allow users to share phone numbers and addresses, it’s best to keep such information private.
- Be selective when choosing friends. Decline a request for friendship if the user doesn’t know the person.
For more advice go to www.bbb.org.
