14 DAY TRIAL // Security researchers warn that survey scammers are leveraging the popularity of the 'Like' button to trick users into giving a rogue application access to their profile by promising them access to a 'Dislike' one.
Despite being only a few months old, the Facebook Like button has become one of the most popular features on the social networking website.
However, scammers have figured that a Dislike button,with reverse functionality would probably also interest a lot of people.
"I just got the Dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!! http://tiny.cc/[censored]," some of the rogue messages used by the latest survey scam read.
But there other variations as well. "Get the official DISLIKE button NOW! - http://bit.ly/[censored]" is another example of spam leading to the same scam.
Clicking on any of the links will take eager users to a rogue application page showing fake graphics of the feature at work on a profile along with a big INSTALL button.
"This will add a 'Dislike' feature to your facebook. You will have the ability to dislike any of your friends statuses. Simply click the install button below to use the application," an associated message reads.
Clicking the install button will prompt one of those "Request for permission" dialogs informing users that the application called "The Official Dislike Button" wants access to their profile information and data at any time, as well as permission to post on their walls.
"If you do give the app permission to run, it silently updates your Facebook status to promote the link that tricked you in the first place, thus spreading the message virally to your Facebook friends and online contacts," Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, warns.
Users who are naive enough to get this far, will still not get any Dislike button. Instead they will be asked to take part in a survey, thus earning the scammers some money through affiliate marketing schemes.
At the end, victims will be redirected to a Firefox extension called the Facebook Dislike Button, developed by a company called FaceMod, which looks legit and is not involved in the scam. Nevertheless, this is not an official Facebook feature and has serious limitations.
People affected by this scam should immediately remove all spam messages posted from their profiles and revoke the application's permissions by removing it from their Account > Application Settings.