14 DAY TRIAL // Security researchers warn of a new Facebook survey scam which tricks users into spamming their friends by promising them free "Farm Cash" for Zynga's highly popular FarmVille game.
"Whohoooooo..... Zynga team gave me 310 Farm Cash absolutely free YES FREE for Christmas bonus..this is so damn COOL..! They are really giving 310 farm cash bonus but for a Very short time ...This OFFER WOULD LAST AN HOUR OR TWO ONLY ...Hurry !..Get yours asap . Here on their link - [link] Be quick !" the spam messages read.
Clicking on the link takes users to the page of a rogue app called "310 FV Cash Christmas Offer [Zynga Official]" which instructs users that they've won both the FarmVille virtual currency and a guide on how to spend it.
Clicking the button to claim the prize prompts a "request for permission" dialog from the application asking for access to post on people's walls, access their data, manage their pages and send them emails.
The post-to-wall permission is used to send spam and propagate the scam, in most cases without the victim's knowledge.
There are also other spam messages produces by this scam, all of them significantly longer than the average ones encountered in similar campaigns.
The end game is to trick users to complete surveys that try to sign them up for premium rate services billed to their mobile phone. The scammers get a hefty commission through affiliate marketing schemes each time a victim is fouled into subscribing.
"You should always be suspicious whenever a third party application requires to access their profile without a legitimate reason," advises Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at antivirus vendor Sophos.
Users affected by this scam should go to Account > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites and revoke the permissions for the rogue app. Spam messages posted on their walls should also be removed.