Some shady-looking security alerts have been spotted in the past few days making the rounds on Facebook. They claim that “Obama Nation hackers” are taking over accounts by tricking users into clicking on malicious Romney profile requests.
The Facebook posts,
identified by Hoax Slayer, are rather confusing, to say the least:
Security alert: OBAMA NATION hackers are asking you to click on a ROMNEY request for your profile etc ... a large number of our friends accounts have been hacked and blocked , do not respond to their messages for "security" checks .. both requests are hackers : pass it on to your groups and friends : recheck your privacy settings :
While it’s true that fake messages claiming that
Mitt Romney will surely win the elections have been landing in inboxes, the reports issued by security companies – the ones that are usually considered credible – don’t mention anything about “security checks” or Obama Nation hackers.
The “alert” could be true, but it seems to be formulated by someone who fell for the scheme and doesn’t know too much about information security. They might also be rather paranoid about President Obama’s involvement in hacking Facebook accounts.
On the other hand, considering that the information provided is so vague, this could also be a hoax designed to induce panic. This particular message reminds us of the messages which warn users that a certain individual is a Facebook hacker.
The general advice always applies: never click on anything that looks suspicious, whether you are offered prizes or promised a shocking piece of news.
On the other hand, spamming the social media platform with unfounded and vague security alerts – which resemble more of an attempt to discredit politicians than to actually warn users of risks – is not recommended.
Social networks are flooded with enough fake messages, so let’s try not to contribute to the spamming.
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