Facebook scam: “I may never text again after reading this”

Sophos is warning Facebook users about a new scam that is spreading quickly across the social network claiming to be a link to an article:

Despite similar scams over the past month, including one involving a fake “Dislike” button, over 200,000 Facebook users have already “liked” the rogue page.

Not only does this help the scammers to earn money, but it also means that at any time the unknown owner of the page can send users an update which could contain an unwanted advertising message or a malicious link.

“Just because it appears that a friend ‘likes’ a Facebook page or application, shouldn’t mean it’s safe for you to click and find out more,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. “As soon as a page urges you to share or ‘like’ a link to your friends, and asks for personal information, alarm bells should start to ring. Users need to think twice and avoid being sucked into these increasingly widespread scams.”

Facebook users that have been affected should delete references to this scam from their wall, to avoid sharing it further with their online friends.