14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook users are warned that claims of accounts being closed en masse are scams that trick them into installing rogue apps and participating in surveys.
According to antivirus vendor Sophos, the rogue messages sent from the accounts of people who fell for these scams read:
"Facebook will close down all accounts today. The official announcement was made by Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook Owner.
"This is a simple step to keep your account working. If you want to have you account from now, please verify your account. http://apps.facebook.com/[removed]/"
"Mark Zuckerberg - Official Announcement. The owner of Facebook announced that all the accounts will SHUT DOWN. In order to keep your account, you MUST verify your account TODAY http://goo.gl/[removed]"
The link takes users to a rogue app called "Update your Acc Urgent" which asks for permission to post on their walls.
If the app is installed, people will unknowingly start spamming their friends and will be directed to a page asking them to verify their identity by filling out a survey.
In the background the page displays a fake message allegedly from Mark Zuckerberg, which announces the introduction of an "active account verification process" due to the overpopulation of the website.
Of course, this FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) spreading only serves to earn scammers money by driving traffic to the surveys.
One might think that people won't be quick to believe that Facebook accounts are being shut down, but not too long ago the Internet was taken by storm of rumors that Facebook will close down in March.
According to Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, there are currently several variations of this scam circulating on the social networking site.
People affected by them should go to Account > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites and remove the rogue apps. They should also clean their wall of spam messages.