Another hoax is spreading very quickly on Facebook at the moment:

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

Update December 22, 2012- Facebook is rolling out new privacy shortcuts and controls, and the new privacy icon that appears in the top right corner is a padlock. This is no doubt fueling the spread of this hoax.

Hackers and scammers are a very real threat on Facebook, of that we can all be sure; however, this alert has no basis in fact. Many or our readers have questioned us in the past about this notification. Click here to read our original blog post about this Facebook notification.

Facebook deems accounts to have low security if there is no secondary email address, mobile phone number or additional security questions setup. When users login, Facebook will often prompt them to enter the additional information to make their account more “secure.” Following the steps can provide additional security measures for your account, but there is a trade off. Facebook acquires more of your personal data in the process. In the end it is up to each individual user to determine what level of security they are comfortable with and how much of their personal details they want to hand over to Facebook.

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.