Scam  Message:

W0W! Hello PlNK Facebook !!! and Goodbye Blue Facebook! You can now switch your facebook C0L0R and themes to 8 different C0L0RS thanks to the FB Developer Team! Get yours here:

Scam Type:  Rogue Application, Survey Scam

Trending: September 2012

Why it’s a Scam:

Clicking the scam link takes you directly to the following Facebook page:

Clicking ‘Continue’ takes you to the Facebook Application installation screen:

Clicking “Allow” will give the permissions shown above to the scammer.  This will allow them to spam their scam messages to all of your friends. Do you really want to let an unknown (scam) developer have this much access to your Facebook information? These scams are known to use multiple Facebook apps to spread virally across Facebook.

Anytime you install a third party Facebook application, you give the application developer access to your personal data. Always be very selective on the apps you install, and only install them from well-known, trusted sources.

Continuing on with the installation redirects you to the following survey scam:

This scam also tries to convince users that the application was developed by Facebook. This is a very common ploy, and don’t believe everything you read on Facebook! Anytime you see a URL in the following format you can be certain that you are dealing with a third party Facebook application:  ‘http://apps[dot]facebook[dot]com/app_name_here’.

If you want to customize your Facebook and change the color, then stick with reputable browser extensions like SocialFixer.

We recommend that users insall BitDefender Safego, a Facebook application that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams like this.

How to Deal with the Scam:

If you did make the mistake of  installing the rogue application you are now spamming the very same spam message to your friends. Clean-up your newsfeed and profile to remove references to the scam. (click the “x” in the top right hand corner of the post).

You also need to remove the app from your Facebook account. Click the down triangle—>Account Settings—>Apps to remove this and other rogue applications.

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.  Also check out:

Your Ultimate Guide to Facebook Scams and How to Deal with Them

How to spot a Facebook Survey Scam

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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.