Issue 137 - August 2012 (2nd Edition) - Page 28

'View Facebook Followers' Scam Targets Twitter Users

Outline
Message being pushed across Twitter claims that users can see who has viewed and followed their Facebook Profile by clicking a link in the tweet.

Brief Analysis
The message is a survey scam. The link opens a page that instructs users to click the "like" button and then install a Facebook application that will supposedly enable them to view their followers. But, after installing the app, users are told they must verify their age by participating in various "surveys" before they can view their "follower" report. The supposed surveys require users to submit personal information such as phone numbers and address details that will subsequently be used to subscribe them to expensive SMS services and inundate them with unwanted promotional emails, phone calls and junk mail. And, in any case, the application does not do what it claims and no matter how many surveys they complete, users will never receive the promised report about their followers.

Detailed analysis and references below example.

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Last updated: August 2, 2012
First published: August 2, 2012
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Example

Twitter Followers? Check this out New Facebook Followers has been
developed. You can now see who's Viewed and Followed your Profile.
Check your Top10 Followers here>>>
[Link removed]

Detailed Analysis
This Twitter driven spam message claims that recipients can see who has been viewing or following their Facebook profile. As with earlier incarnations of this scam, the claims in the message are a lie. In fact the message is a survey scam designed to trick users into spamming their friends, installing a rogue Facebook application and participating in bogus online surveys. This particular campaign is a little different than some of its predecessors in that it attempts to find new victims via Twitter rather than just Facebook.

The scammers bank on the fact that many Twitter users also have Facebook accounts and therefore at least a few will succumb to the temptation to see who has been viewing their profile and click the scam link. Those who do click the link will be taken to a Facebook page that presents the following information:

Victims are first instructed to click the "like" button which helps further promote the scam to other Facebook users. Then, when users click the "View Result" button, they are asked to install a Facebook application as shown in the following screenshot:

The rogue application asks for permission to access user data at any time and post on the user's behalf. But even if users allow the app, they will still not get to see the promised report. Instead, they will be told that they must verify their age by participating in one or more surveys, as shown in the following screenshot:

Clicking any of the "survey" links takes users to dubious third party websites that have no connection whatsoever to Facebook and will certainly not "verify" anything. Some of the "survey" pages ask users to provide personal information including name, address and contact details, ostensibly to allow them to go in the draw for a prize. Others invite them to download dubious toolbars, games or software. Still others will claim that users must provide their mobile phone number - thereby subscribing to absurdly expensive text messaging services - in order to get the results of a survey or go in the running for a prize.

But, no matter how many surveys the user completes, the supposed Top 10 Follower report will remain "locked". In any case, the report is utterly bogus to begin with and features entirely fictional figures for how many times the locked users have supposedly viewed profiles. Meanwhile, the rogue app will use victim Facebook accounts to further promote itself across the network.

Any message that claims that you can install an application to see who has been viewing your profile is sure to be a scam. Survey scams similar to the one discussed here regularly target Facebook users.

Learn more about Facebook Survey Scams

References
Facebook 'See Who Viewed Your Profile' Scams - Rogue 'Stalker' Apps
What is a Facebook Survey Scam? - Survey Scams Explained

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