By Clark Howard
Videos By Rare
An old Facebook scam is making the rounds again!
If you see a status update about Facebook coming for your photos or other personal information, it’s probably a hoax, and possibly a scam!
What to look out for
These scams pop up every once in a while and here’s what the latest one looks like:
As of September 27th , 2015 at 10:50p.m. Eastern standard time, I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, or posts, both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute). NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement atleast once it will be tactically allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates.
Another one claims that users can pay a fee to have their information made private:
Now it’s official! It has been published in the media. Facebook has just released the entry price: £5.99 to keep the subscription of your status to be set to “private”. If you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free (I said paste not share) if not tomorrow, all your posts can become public. Even the messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed. After all, it does not cost anything for a simple copy and paste.
Do not fall for these hoaxes. They’ve been debunked several times in the past.
And before you click on any link someone shares about Facebook’s privacy policy, first take a look at the company’s legal terms to understand how the company is allowed to use your information.
Get more details here.
Another old scam to be aware of
Got an email telling you that you’ve been tagged in a photo on Facebook? Don’t click on that link in the email to see the picture! It could download a virus to your computer.
A while back, according to Mashable.com, there was a new criminal running a sophisticated malware program targeted at the 139 million Americans on Facebook.
Here’s how this one plays out: You get a notification email from what appears to be Facebook. But look closely at the link in the email and you’ll see Facebook is slightly misspelled as “Faceboook” (with an extra ‘o’).
So when you get the email, first hover your mouse over the link and confirm the “Faceboook” misspelling. Then promptly delete it!
If you do click on the link, a virus is downloaded to your computer in 4 seconds. Then you’re quickly redirected to the real Facebook page. It’s so seamless that most people don’t even notice anything is wrong. (If this has happened to you, be sure to see my Virus, Spyware and Malware Protection Guide for free fixes that can help when you’re already infected.)
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