Scams, Spam & Other Annoyances on Facebook

With over 600 million users, Facebook is undoubtedly the most viewed website worldwide. Because of this, it's no surprise that it has constantly been under heavy attack on spams and scams. I can't remember how many times I complained about some people who flood my walls and message box convincing me to "Click on this link to (insert an impossible idea here)."

What is a spam? Basically, a spam is the act of flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive that message. To apply in Facebook, a spam is an application that is designed specifically for spreading a message -- using events in the news to grab your attention and spread malicious links. In short, they exist to ANNOY people.

I personally feel that there are two main reasons for the spread of Facebook spams:
1. Users trust almost anything that they see on their news feeds.
2. Facebook's security measures are not tight.

Here are the most common Facebook spams & scams I have encountered so far:

"Click to See Who Viewed Your Profile." - I don't get why some people still get fooled by this. FYI: There are no applications out there that exist solely to alter the settings of Facebook. If you want the capability to know who views your profile, switch back to Friendster.





"Free Facebook Credits!" -Shortened URL's especially those offering freebies are 95% SCAM. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.


"Mafia Wars Freebies" - I used to play this game and I know you can get freebies by asking your friends to send you some. Again, do not fall the bait on freebies using shortened URL's -- unless you want a malware.


"Free iPad!" - Omg, I am super annoyed at this one because I have been bombarded by these links on my wall prompting me to restrict my wall to some people. I know we all love winning gadgets especially as good as an iPad, but come on guys -- the way the "promo" was presented is so informal and so dubious.


"See A Picture of Bin Laden Dead." - This is the latest spam going around and it quickly spread all over Facebooklandia mainly because this is a current event and the curiosity in us wants to see Bin Laden's pic. After it was reported how gruesome it looks, most people (myself included) of course wants to see it too! But don't you think that if there is a real picture out there, it will be posted as an actual pic and not as a malicious link?


While my pal Mark Zuckerberg (wag makelam, lol) is doing the best he could in keeping our favorite social networking site secure, I think it is also our responsibility to our Facebook friends to be extra careful on what we're posting as we are in a one big online community. Here are a few things to keep in mind about these spam/scam attacks:

1. Be aware of the applications that you authorize to post on your wall. Wait, you know where to find that right? :)
2. Do not trust shortened URL's. If the link is really worth checking out, best to ask the person who sent you that link first to verify if it's really a trusted site.
3. Lastly, if it came from a person who don't normally post links on your wall, and the message is sort of generic -- Eh alam na! Okay?

A good rule of thumb when using apps is to investigate the settings. If an app seems to require an inordinate amount of access to your profile and the brand or app maker isn’t well known, then the best practice is simply to avoid using the app.

I hope a good number of my Facebook friends get to read this, because all the examples I posted above are actual wall posts I found on my friends' profiles. I hope I didn't offend anybody, but if I do -- I'm sorry, this blog is intended to educate and not to bash people. :)

Happy Facebooking!