14 DAY TRIAL // Security researchers warn that Facebook scammers are trying to lure users to rogue surveys by promising them free Walmart gift cards.
The spam messages sent by people who have already fallen victim to the scam read: "Take the Free $1,000 Walmart Gift Card Survey!" and direct users to a well-designed third-party page that appears to be part of a legit campaign, but it's not.
"Take our quick survey to see if you qualify for a Free $1,000 Walmart Gift Card," the rogue page reads. However, users are prompted to share the link with their friends before being allowed to do anything.
Sharing the links is not recommended because it helps spread the scam. "Visitors will certainly not receive a gift card for completing the survey, otherwise it will be a disaster for Walmart," note security researchers from Websense who analyzed the scam.
The campaign is pretty widespread, the security company identifying over fifteen rogue URLs associated with it. Participating in offers that seem too good to be true is never a good idea.
In addition of earning commission money for scammers, some these surveys can actually trick users into signing up for costly services billed to their mobile phones.
If you have fallen victim to this scam, you should remove the spam messages from your wall immediately in order to prevent your friends from also falling victim to it.
Users who were asked for their phone numbers during the surveys should contact their mobile service provider and explicitly ask them not to be subscribed to any additional service.
Despite such scams plaguing Facebook for the past few years now, the company is still having a hard time blocking them. Facebook's chief security officer Joe Sullivan told us earlier this year that the average time for blocking a scam is 24 hours, but security researchers have seen widespread and dangerous campaigns on the social network that lasted longer than that.