There are a dozen of scams spreading on Facebook every day. We constantly report Facebook scams, so that it helps users stay cautioned about it. Recently, a fake message that was spreading on Facebook stated – Lady Gaga was found dead in her hotel room. Well, scam messages like this are created in order to drive traffic to scammers’ websites or earn money.
Facebook is not just prone to scam messages, but also to phishing and malware attacks as well. There have been an increasing number of phishing and malware attacks recently. The latest in the series is a phishing attack that sent users a security message from fake Facebook Security Network. The message states that the user had violated the Facebook Terms of Services and requires completing a verification process.
The user is asked to click on a bogus link that leads to a fake account verification page. The message also gives a warning that Facebook account will be blocked, if the user does not verify his/her account in the next 24 hours.
You can notice that the link provided to verify your account is a fake. It has the link - http://shortlink.tk/gh/accountconfirm which redirects again to http://apps_facebook_account_help_center.cast.cc. Facebook does not create any short URLs when it comes to security related issues. Clicking on the link will take you to a page where you will have to go through the verification process.
During the process, you will be asked to enter your name, DOB, credit card number and your password. You will also be asked to enter your email id and password. Well, this not only hacks your Facebook account, but also your email account.
At the end of the process, the details entered are sent to the scammers via email, and the scammer will have complete control over your accounts. It is recommended that you ignore the message and DO NOT click on any inappropriate links. To protect against phishing scams, Facebook users should make sure that the URL they are visiting says “www.facebook.com.” If you find the URL to be different, but having a design similar to Facebook, then it is likely to be spam.
If you have accidently clicked on the link and completed the verification process, I advise you to immediately change the password of all your accounts.
There are over 750 million active users on Facebook, and its high time Facebook takes action against scammers and phishing attacks. Avoiding such scams are not an easy task, but you can always follow caution. Check out the following post on to how you can use a security application for protecting you from Facebook scams.
As a precautionary measure, always check which applications you use and remove unwanted or suspicious ones. If you aren’t sure how to do it, you can always check our guide on removing apps from Facebook. We have compiled a list of Most Actively Spreading Scams on Facebook that you might want to have a look at.
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