New Facebook Malware Suggests Phony “Pages You Might Like”

malwareEmails have lately been arriving in Facebook users’ inboxes asking them to review a list of “pages they may like.” The messages feature pictures of the pages in the email body and a “personalized” subject line addressing the user by their first name. However, if users click the link, they are redirected to a real, albeit infected, website where they are prompted to download malware.

As a team of independent Italian security experts recently found, spam communications are a $200 million-a-year business on Facebook. Facebook does its best to combat phony links and malware, though before they can eliminate them the bugs often infect thousands if not tens of thousands of users. It’s up to the individual user to discern whether or not a link is malicious, and there are several easy telltale signs to consider before clicking anything on Facebook. For instance, if the URL is misspelled in any way or the grammar of a post is poor, steer clear. If the link is being shared by a friend but it doesn’t seem like something they would post, don’t click on it and notify the friend in question that their profile may be compromised.

Per ThreatTrack Security, the company that discovered the bug, here is a list of compromised URLs to look out for in your Inbox:

  • iecc.com.au/complying/index.html
  • pictondental.com.au/hilda/index.html
  • ladiscoteca.org/john/index.html
  • bonway-onza.com/thalami/index.html
  • watchfp.mobi/topic/able_disturb_planning.php
  • mvwebsites.com.au/bmSe4BN.exe
  • mystatesbororealestate.com/rhdkD6.exe
  • mit-stolz-vorbei-dollbergen.de/w8BDM.exe
  • petrasolutions.com/JpVsf.exe

We often advise users to log in to Facebook directly to see any notifications or official communications from the platform. This can help users avoid being duped by cleverly crafted email scams and other socially engineered attacks.