Scam Message:

[Video] – Look what this girl wore at the beach in front of thousands of people!

Scam Type: Rogue Browser Extension, Like-Jacking

Trending: October 2012

Why it’s a Scam:

Clicking the wall post link takes you to the following page:

If you click the play button, you’ll be taken to the page shown below that is designed to look like Facebook:

If you click the ‘Install’ button, you will be prompted to install a browser extension. We decided to stop here, and we recommend that you do the same. As with third party Facebook applications, you should be careful about the browser extensions that you install. If you are lucky, then you might get a bunch of adware installed to your browser. Rogue browser extensions are known to be malware delivery agents. You are totally at the mercy of the add-on developer! Only install add-ons from trusted, well-known sources!

There is also hidden code that will cause a Facebook ‘like’ to appear on your Timeline

How to Deal with the Scam:

First off, you should ‘unlike’ the item on your Timeline, so the scam message isn’t being spread to all of your Facebook friends.

If you did make the mistake of installing the browser extension, then see the following guide to learn how to remove it from your system:

How to protect your Facebook account from Rogue Browser Extensions

The Facebook message is spreading by code inside the browser extension, so you need to remove the status update from your profile and notify your friends about the spam. You should also run a full system scan with a competent anti-virus program.

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 page on Facebook to be kept informed of the latest security issues.

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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.

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.