14 DAY TRIAL // Cybercrooks are doing everything in their power to dupe unsuspecting internauts into clicking on survey sites that earn them large amounts of money. The latest Facebook scam that's been seen on Walls implies a video that allegedly features the victim’s ex-girlfriend.
Sophos came across a variant of this plot and informs that the message also includes the names of the victims’ friends, just to make everything more realistic.
“[Video] WOW.. watch what Happened to his Ex Girlfriend!! [LINK] Omg. I cant believe this actually happened to his Ex-Girlfreind!” reads one of the scam’s versions.
Once the link is clicked, the user is taken to a fake Facebook page that urges him to install a so-called Divx plugin that’s required to view the content. Of course, the plugin is actually a malicious browser component that does nothing more than take over the victims’ browsing sessions and post on his behalf.
And this is not all. After the browser extension is installed, the user is presented with a classic survey site that asks for sensitive information that can be utilized by the fraudsters in future campaigns.
These surveys not only help the crooks gather information, but they also help them get paid. For each user that completes the polls, the con artists earn an amount of money.
As always, social media customers are advised to treat any suspicious advertisement with caution. Even if you click on the message, and even if you’re tempted into clicking on the link, at the point where you’re asked to install the so-called plugin you must bail out, since this is the point of (almost) no return.
If by mistake you’ve already installed the browser extension, you can check the browser’s settings and remove it. Also verify that all the messages posted by the malicious element are removed from your profile.