14 DAY TRIAL // A new survey scam is rapidly propagating on Facebook by promising users free virtual currency for use in Zynga's latest hit game CityVille.
"Woohoo! Thanks CityVille I got my 1,000 City Cash! http://apps.facebook.com/[censored]" or "CityVille is giving 1,000 City Cash for a limited time only! Grab Yours Now! http://apps.facebook.com/[censored]," the messages promoting this scam read.
City Cash is one of several in-game currencies which can be used to build special buildings, expand the city's land and perform other actions. City Cash can be either earned or bought with real money.
Under these circumstances it's understandable why the promise of 1,000 free City Cash would sound appealing to players.
However, this is nothing more than one of the many rogue application-based survey scams that have plagued Facebook for the past half year.
Opening the spammed links takes users to a well designed page bearing the CityVille logo, but clicking on the button to claim the alleged prize prompts a permissions request dialog from an app called "Giveaway Promo."
The application wants access to users' profile information and to post on their walls in order to spam their friends and draw them into the vicious circle too.
Users who misguidedly install this rogue app are redirected to a page showing a greyed out image of a City Cash pile with a big CLAIM button under it.
However, a overlayed dialog claims the content is locked until one of the listed offers is completed. These offers are the scam's money making component.
Each time a user completes one of them, scammers earn a hefty commission from affiliate marketing companies, which are not necessarily aware that their campaigns are being abused.
Users who fell victim to this scam should go to Account > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites and revoke the rogue app's permissions. The spam messages posted on their walls should also be removed.