The following message has gone viral once again:

HACKERS ALERT….. ATTENTION!!!!! IF ANY OF YOU GET A PADLOCK ON TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF FACEBOOK HOME PAGE SAYING YOUR SECURITY IS LOW.. IGNORE.. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.IT IS SO HACKERS CAN ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT. COPY & PASTE PLEASE

The last time we saw this hoax spread on a grand scale was in response to a legitimate Facebook notification for account holders with low security settings. (The lack of a mobile number, secondary email address, etc.)

This new activity is in response to yet another padlock that does indeed appear in the right hand corner. This new padlock icon shown below is a shortcut to the new privacy settings that Facebook is currently rolling out. There is no threat of hackers, the icon can’t be removed and there is absolutely no threat or danger to user accounts on this issue.

We have seen several hoaxes in the past, and I’m sure we’ll see many more in the future. Always take a few moments to verify messages and alerts before blindly copying and pasting them to your Wall.

If you or your Facebook friends are falling for tricks like this, it’s time to get yourself informed of the latest threats. Be sure to join the Facecrooks community of over 90,000 fans on Facebook to be kept informed of the latest security issues.

Recommended Resources

BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams on Facebook.

PRIVATE WiFi® is a Personal VPN that encrypts everything you send and receive. Don’t access Facebook from a public WiFi hotspot without it.

DoNotTrackMe protects your privacy by blocking online tracking. Abine – Online Privacy Starts Here.

Action Alert | Free Parental Control offers a 100% free Internet safety solution designed for parents. There is also a Maximum Protection option for parents that need a more advanced set of tools.