Is This Really You? A Scary Facebook Phishing Scam
As a public speaker predominantly working with today’s youth, I have to consider myself a role model in a certain capacity. To credibly stand up in front of teens and ask them to reconsider and modify their financial behaviors, I need to be an adult they can respect.
With social networking as a crucial tool for business, the line between the personal and professional has merged. It’s not a stretch to say that my personal social networking profile reflects my business as much as my website does.
My encounter with a Facebook phishing scam
This is why I was particularly alarmed when I received an email that appeared to be linked to my Facebook account. ‘OMG, is this really you??? You need to remove this photo now’, the message read, supposedly from a friend.
Admittedly, this email set my heart pounding. Knowing what a privilege it is to represent credit unions in the classroom, I’m cautious about personal information posted online. The idea that a friend would see a photo of me so upsetting they needed to warn me really scared me. There simply aren’t embarrassing pictures of me out there, so where had this come from? I braced myself, about to click on the link that would supposedly mortify me.
And then it hit me. I was about to fall for a phishing scheme, and a good one, too. When we panic, we don’t use all our critical thinking skills. These types of messages are designed to get us to react, rather than act. The best way to beat a social networking phishing scheme is to keep cool and have a planned response.
Phishing techniques change daily
Phishing, the act of ‘fishing’ for personal information by tricking the recipient into surrendering his or her private information to the identity thief, isn’t new. But phishing techniques change from day to day, and keeping abreast of those changes will keep you safe
How to avoid a Facebook phishing scheme
Facebook asserts it has over 400 million active users, with over 50% of those users logging in daily. With so many of us utilizing this fun resource each day, it’s a resource that, when leveraged by criminals, can give them access to millions of potential victims. Take a few precautionary steps and you’ll avoid the latest Facebook phishing schemes.
- Only access Facebook by going directly to Facebook.com Rather than click on links that appear to come from the Facebook messaging system, access Facebook through your browser to view the comment or photo referenced in the message. This prevents you from accessing a phishing link that will give a thief your user name and password when you attempt to log in.
- Watch out for greeting cards Greeting cards that seem to come from a Facebook friend can often be links designed to embed malware or viruses in your computer. Again, if you think a Friend has sent you a card, you should be able to log into Facebook through your browser and safely view the card there. No card? You likely just avoided a scam.
- Be careful clicking on links that are posted to your wall Realize that phishing scams don’t just come through your email box. They can happen through wall to wall messages, and the live chat function.
- Stay up to date on the latest scams with tips from Facebook Get safety tips from Facebook themselves here.
Alicia Diefenbach is a former financial crime-fighter for the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. After spending nearly a decade helping fraud victims seek restitution and educating consumers about various aspects of personal financial management, she went into business for herself.
Alicia now designs fun, non-commercial presentations and materials that help people make financial decisions that lead to success. She is a published consumer writer and speaks on topics that educate women, teens, adults, and seniors on various aspects of fraud awareness, and successful personal financial management.
Comments
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said on March 15th, 2010 02:00 PM
Robin Caldwell says: