Softpedia
 

NEWS CATEGORIES:



NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>
MEET THE EDITORS >>
TRENDING TODAY
Home > News > Security > Security Blog

September 28th, 2012, 14:07 GMT · By

BLOG

Miley Cyrus Tape Scam Designed to Swipe Facebook Authentication Tokens

SHARE:

Adjust text size:


Age verification system steals Facebook authentication tokens Enlarge picture - Age verification system steals Facebook authentication tokens
Facebook scams that advertise the secret intimate tapes of various celebrities are not new, but because they’re fairly successful, cybercriminals continue to rely on them to achieve their malicious goals.

According to Bitdefender's HotForSecurity blog, the latest scheme starts with a post that allegedly leads to a private video featuring Miley Cyrus. When victims want to play the clip, they’re asked to verify their age.

How? By copying their Facebook authentication token and by pasting it into a designated textbox.

Of course, even after the token is handed over, there’s no video of Miley Cyrus. Instead, the victim is presented with a classic survey scam which – if completed – earns the scammers a certain amount of money.

However, this is not the main issue. By giving the crooks the authentication token, the unsuspecting Facebook customer is actually allowing them to access his/her account.

Users who fall for it will see their Timeline flooded with posts advertising the aforementioned video. Even worse, all their friends will be tagged to make sure that they don’t miss it.

If you already fell for it, we hope that you removed all the posts about the Miley Cyrus tape before your grandmother saw them.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:

19,371 hits · 3 comments · Link to this article · Print article · Send to friend · Subscribe to news

MUST-READ RELATED ARTICLES:


“Your in This” Twitter Spam Leads to Malicious Facebook Video

Voice of SpongeBob Tom Kenny Dies, Hoax

Facebook Account Confirmation Spam Leads to Rogue Pharmacy, Other Threats

August 2012 VIPRE Report: Scams, Mobile Malware and Privacy Breaches

Phishers Promise Woolworths Gift Certificates in Return for Sensitive Information

READER COMMENTS:


Comment #1 by: bel on 11 Oct 2012, 21:54 UTC reply to this comment

so if we fell for it how can we stop them having access to our account


Comment #2 by: Steve on 12 May 2013, 16:01 UTC reply to this comment

it is her life she can do what she wants


Comment #3 by: dontworryboutit. on 12 Jun 2013, 23:05 UTC reply to this comment

How can You be so sick facebook prevs..

Copyright © 2001-2013 Softpedia. Contact/Tip us at

WindowsGamesDriversMacLinuxScriptsMobileHandheldNews

SUBMIT PROGRAM   |   ADVERTISE   |   GET HELP   |   SEND US FEEDBACK   |   RSS FEEDS   |   UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE   |   ROMANIAN FORUM