14 DAY TRIAL // A new Facebook scam is tricking overly curious users into spamming their friends or family and participating in surveys by luring them with a video of an anaconda coughing up an entire hippo.
"SHOCKING! Anaconda Coughs Up An Entire Hippo! Horrifying snake killed a huge hippo!" the shared links say, while also displaying a video thumbnail depicting an anaconda snake.
Users who fall for this scam will also have their Facebook status changed to a message that reads "OMG, this is the biggest and scariest snake I have ever seen, check out this video: http://tiny.cc/[CENSORED]".
Visiting the rogue link takes users to a page informing them that they are on the right track to see the shocking footage, but eventually they'll hit a permissions request prompt to allow a rogue application access to their profile.
Granting the requested permissions is obviously a bad idea and will only take victims to another screen telling them that they need to take one of six surveys as part of a human verification process.
"The point of the application's spamming is to draw Facebook users into taking online surveys - and each time a victim completes a survey, the scammer makes some commission," Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos explains.
"Even if you don't take the survey, the rogue application has already abused your Facebook account - changing your status message and spreading an advert for the alleged 'shocking video' to your news feed," he adds.
If you're amongst the people who fell victim to this scam, go and delete all spam messages posted on your wall. Also, remove the rogue application from Account > Application Settings page.
And if you were wondering if anaconda snakes are capable of swallowing whole hippos, yes they are – at least some young ones.
There's a real video of an anaconda regurgitating a hippo dating back to 2006, which you can easily find and watch on YouTube without needing to take any survey or spam your Facebook friends.
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