14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that the method of writing "no surveys" in scam messages is catching on, as another such attack targeted Facebook users over the weekend.
The lure message reads "This American GUY must be Stoned to Death for doing this to a GIRL (NO SURVEYS)" and advertises a bit.ly URL.
Clicking on the link takes users to a Facebook-like fan page hosted on an external domain, which displays a video thumbnail and a "Only for 18+ users – NO ADS / NO SURVEYS" warning.
Another interesting aspect of this page is that it displays a list, according to which, it was liked by 1,601,636 people. This is in fact just an image and is used to add credibility to the scam.
Clicking the video thumbnail first asks users to like the page and then takes them to an IQ quiz. Indeed there are no surveys, but the end result is the same – being billed for a premium rate service.
After taking the quiz, victims are asked for their mobile phone number in order to allegedly receive the results.
However, unless they read the fine print, they won't realize that doing this means being automatically subscribed to an SMS service that is both useless and expensive.
IQ quiz scams actually predate the survey ones and it's a shame that mobile carriers allow clients to be billed after simply providing their phone number online and checking a box.
If you have fallen victim to this scam, scour your wall and profile for any spam message you might have posted unknowingly and remove it.
Also unlike the page and contact you mobile operator immediately to instruct them that you don't want to be billed for any premium rate services.
Have the call recorded and have them give you a support case number, which you can later use against them if you start being charged.
