Spam concerns Facebook users
By Gina on November 25, 2010 | Spam and email, facebook, spam, spammer, social networking
F-Secure did a survey about spam that spreads via Facebook. It showed that Facebook users are concerned about spammers way to gain their malicious intentions.
78% believe that spam is a huge problem on the website, 49% of them state they already had seen something like that which they considered as unwelcome information and an attempt to make some kind of fraud. This would be not a new thing on Facebook which is the biggest and most popular social network on the World Wide Web.
Nowadays, users spend more time on social networks contacting their family and friends than writing a letter or an email letter. This is noticed by spammers that continuously use this for their needs.
F-Secure Security Advisor Sean Sullivan says: „A lot of this spam is cost-per-action spam. In the old days, adware toolbars were the product, and they had direct affiliates. Now with social networking spam, I’m seeing affiliate networks acting as the middlemen for the product or brand, which allows localization across the globe.“
Spam shows up in tricky ways, like the Facebook “Dislike” button, which was tried by 12% of the users or the ability to see whom has viewed your profile, tried by 20%. Once activated, spam is shared with all contacts that the account has and in many cases it can spread scam.
However, 77% Facebook users confirmed they feel safe and protected while they are using their account but they also are concerned that their financial details or personal information may be disclosed by scammers. 29% are afraid about their identity theft and 28% burdens their account can be hacked. This leads to a conclusion that every user closely connects their Facebook identity with their real identity.
This concern is not left flouting. Facebook has taken new steps to defeat fake profiles and spam. S. Sullivan claims: „You cannot easily report a profile as spam. Using photo recognition to identify fake profiles could also be helpful, as many of the profile pictures are used again and again.“ He also suggests that Facebook users should carefully choose their friends online. Use your common sense and be with friends that you trust on Facebook.
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