Facebook Profile Views Fraud Tricks People (Again)
By Luciana on April 18, 2011 | Phishing
Curiosity helps us learn things, but it can also get us into trouble. Would you like to know how many people look at your Facebook profile? And how would like spreading spam and participating in survey scam at the same time? A fraud is exactly what is hiding behind the new Profile views/Wall views application on the great social network. The message usually brings the following information:
SHOCKING! My Facebook wall has been visited 2239 times.
Boy views: 1030.
Girl views: 1209.
The app usually posts the notification as a status update. It gives random numbers followed by a link to the app so victim’s friends can join the fun and find out their statistics too. Before clicking any link like that, keep in mind that Facebook apps have no access to profile visitors count because a thing like that does not exist. Website’s Privacy rules clearly states:
“Facebook does not provide applications or groups with the technical means to allow people to track profile views or see statistics on how often a particular piece of content has been viewed and by whom.”
For more information about Facebook privacy, please see sections “Can I know who’s viewing my profile or how often it’s being viewed?” and “Can I see who's viewed my profile? There's a group or application claiming I can find out who has been viewing my profile.”
Why applications like this are bad for you besides being deceptive and annoying? First of all, in order to “use” the app, a victim has to grant the access to personal information and give a permission to post to their profile. Sharing this much data with a third party is never a smart move. If you wouldn’t walk around with all your personal details, contact info and home address printed on a T-Shirt, there isn't much sense in giving away the same information online. Another reason why Facebook frauds exist is online surveys that you got to take before gaining access to your profile views statistics. Scammers get paid for each recipient participating in a survey while all you get is random number and spamming application. The worst you can do during encounter with a Facebook scam is downloading something onto PC or visiting links provided by the application. Reputable and legitimate things are not promoted or distributed in fraudulent ways like “SHOCKING! My Facebook wall has been visited x times” app.
Other possible posts by this particular scam include:
“WOW! My FB wall has been seen [random] times”
“WOW! My FB wall has been viewed [random] times”
“AMAZING! My FB wall has been seen [random] times”
“SHOCKING! My FB wall has been seen [random] times”.
What to do if you use the “SHOCKING! My Facebook wall has been visited [random number] times” application? The first step is removing all the posts made by the app from your profile so the scam doesn’t spread further. The next action is deleting the scam from your list of approved applications. You can do this by browsing to Account ->Privacy Settings -> Applications and Websites.
Learn more about how to deal with Facebook scams.
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