14 DAY TRIAL // A new viral survey scam, which tries to lure Facebook users with a video about a girl caught by her father on webcam, falsely claims that there are no surveys involved.
Survey scams are probably the most prevalent threat on Facebook at the moment and the social network's staff has a hard time keeping up with their number.
The latest one produces spam messages that read: "Look What happens when father catches daughter on her webcam. No Surveys! - [link]"
Opening the link takes users to a page displaying a video thumbnail that shows a schoolgirl dressed in a very short skirt.
Clicking this thumbnail prompts a permission request dialog from an application, which asks for access to manage the user's pages and post on their wall.
Giving it permission to do those things is obviously not a good idea and will only result in the spam message being sent from the victim's account without their knowledge.
After the permission dialog another prompt is displayed, which claims that the user needs to take a verification test in order to prove that they are not a spam-bot.
They might be called "verification tests," but they're still the same old surveys, which earn spammers generous commissions through dubious affiliate marketing schemes.
The presence of the "No Surveys!" addendum is both bad news and good news. It's bad because some users might believe the messages are legit and it's good because it means that users are beginning to catch onto the spammers, who need additional tricks to foul them.
If you have fallen victim to this scam go under Account > Application Settings, change the Show filter to Authorized and check the list for any unfamiliar name. Once you locate the rogue application press the x button to remove it.