Timeline Changes Are Coming – Beware of New Scams

FacebookLogo2One thing you can count on with Facebook is that things rarely stay the same for long. They are always testing and making changes – some are for a better user experience, while others are to increase their revenue models.

Sometimes it’s a mixed review with the one billion Facebook users. Some welcome the changes, while others often moan and groan about them. It can be pretty frustrating having to re-learn features just when you have them all figured out.

One group on Facebook always love the changes – Facebook scammers!  We have seen several scams take advantage of the confusion and chaos that a major platform redesign can entail. We’ve also seen scams that prey on people’s desire for Facebook features that don’t exist, like the ability to see who has viewed your profile and a Facebook dislike button.

When Facebook first introduced Timeline, it was met with much disdain and frustration. Several surveys showed that users weren’t happy with the change and preferred the one column layout of the pre-Timeline era.

Cyber criminals and spammers took advantage of this fact, and a plethora of ‘Remove Facebook Timeline’ themed scams spread vastly across the platform.

So, we would like to issue a word of warning to our readers. In the days and weeks ahead, as the new changes become available to more users, be cautions of messages offering you to ‘Get the New Timeline’ or ‘Remove the New Timeline’ or other similarly themed updates.

For those of you not living in New Zealand and wanting to see the new Timeline changes, check out this post from Mashable for screen grabs and a walk-through of what could be heading your way.



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