14 DAY TRIAL // A new survey scam seems to be spreading on Facebook by promising users an app which can display their first ever status update on the social network.
Spam messages posted from the accounts of this scam's victims read: "My first status was -- Sweet I have this now. That was posted on O7/19/2OO8. See your First Status: [link] Click SKIP in the top right."
One indication that these messages are most likely fake is the fact that the zeros in the date are actually the letter O.
According to Facecrooks, clicking on the advertised link immediately prompts a permission request dialog from an app called "MobileWeb," which asks for access to post on the user's wall.
This permission is abused to send spam messages in the user's name to all of the people in their Facebook friends list.
Users who misguidedly install the rogue application are then directed to a page reading "Find your first status now!" which asks them to complete one of several 30-second "tests" for security purposes.
These tests are actually offers or surveys that try to subscribe people to premium rate services or collect their contact information for spamming purposes.
Scammers earn a significant commission through affiliate marketing schemes every time someone completes one of the offers.
We've previously seen similar lures in the form of applications that promised functionality either banned or inexistent on Facebook.
The most common ones are those that claim to display profile visitors. Meanwhile, others claim to list people who blocked or removed the user from their friends list.
People who fell victim to this scam should go to Account > Privacy Settings > Apps and Websites and revoke the rogue app's permissions. The spam messages should also be manually tracked down removed from their walls.