Advisory: “Malicious Tagging” Still a Danger For Facebook Users
CHICAGO, IL -In recent months, thousands of Facebook users have been the victim of a scam called “malicious tagging”. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) urges everyone using Facebook to use caution when opening unexpected or suspicious posts, due to of the nature of the scam and the damage it can cause.
Here is how the scam works: You get tagged in a Facebook post, along with a few other friends. There is a link to an “adult” video, when you click it, a pop up window appears. It says that you need to download a Flash player update before you can watch the video. This update actually scans your computer for personal or banking information. It also goes onto your personal Facebook accounts, creates a fake video posts, tags your friends and repeats this scam.
“It’s the trusting nature of social media sites that cause individuals to fall victim to scams like these,” says Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “Never click on links that seem suspicious to you, even if it indicates it was posted by a friend.”
To protect yourself from these scams:
Don’t take the bait. Stay away from promotions of “exclusive,” “shocking” or “sensational” footage. If it sounds too overly promotional or too outlandish to be true, it is probably a scam.
Be careful of shortened links. Scammers use link-shortening services to disguise malicious links. Don’t fall for it. If you don’t recognize the link destination, don’t click.
Don’t trust your friends’ taste online. It might not actually be them “liking” or sharing scam links to photos. Their account may have been hacked or compromised by malware.
On Facebook, report scam posts and other suspicious activity by following these instructions.
On Twitter, if another user is sending you links to malware or other spam, report it to Twitter by following these instructions.
For more tips, visit www.bbb.org/chicago, like us on Facebook , follow us on Twitter and add us on Pinterest.
