Facebook-themed messages are a frequent source of bogus links from both spam and compromised accounts. Whether you receive the messages via SMS, the Messenger app, or just inside regular web chat, it pays to be careful. A wide variety of attacks use bogus messages as their launchpad, and the risk of account compromise is ever-present. Phishing is not the only threat. Scammers will also happily send “check this out” messages and direct you to malware. This is why it’s crucial to be careful around links…any link. You just never know.
One such phishing message is currently doing the rounds in Dutch, and it plugs into a sense of FOMOto encourage you to click the link. It was first observedback in March, and appears to be making a comeback.
This is a very common tactic, not giving anything away and almost baiting you into clicking. There’s a few others along these lines being sent to people in Facebook Messenger at the moment. One style of message is one that asks something along the lines of “Have you seen who died/Guess who died”. The answer, of course, is nobody has died. However, the aim of the game is to have you panic and hit the link without thinking.
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Hitting the login button submits the data and redirects you through several different domains. In testing, we kept hitting a Google 404 error but you may well end up somewhere else depending on region, type of browser, device, and so on.
If you’ve entered your login after clicking through from a random message in this fashion, stop what you’re doing. Go to Facebook and change your password as soon as you possibly can.
The big problem with rogue messages via IM is the aspect of sender trust. If a link is sent to you from a total stranger on a public platform like Twitter, you’ll probably be sceptical and treat it with the caution it deserves. An SMS from a number you don’t recognise? They have some success depending on scam type, but you’d probably expect a banking phish or a fake parcel delivery message through that route.
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But if you get a message from someone within your closed network of friends and family, where you may interact dozens or even hundreds of times a day, then it's likely you'll be clicking those links with a lot more confidence.
Sadly, accounts belonging to those you trust can be hijacked like any others. If your dad’s Facebook account was compromised yesterday and you woke to a link and a message which reads “Look what I found here”, what would you do?
Phishers know that if they can crack an account, it’ll almost certainly be allowed to send messages to people in its immediate circle as their security settings will permit them access. After all, you don’t add your closest relatives to Facebook and then
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Once your friend or family member regains access to their account, you can point them to these tips for keeping their own account locked down too. This way, you’ll be that little bit more safer next time account harvesting phishers are on the prowl.
Former Director of Research at FaceTime Security Labs. He has a very particular set of skills. Skills that make him a nightmare for threats like you.Just like a character in a horror movie investigating a strange noise in the basement, we can all be a little too curious for our own good. Unfortunately, it’s this exact curiosity that’s being exploited by bad guys on Facebook. But how exactly are they doing it—and even more importantly,
If you’ve received a link to a video on Facebook messenger saying, “this looks like you”, do NOT click on the video. It is a scam . Without understanding the risk, many people are unknowingly falling victim to this attack simply because they figured they were watching a harmless video sent to them by a friend. Little did they know, one small click is all it would take to compromise their Facebook account, and potentially their device as well.
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” sending you the message could be someone you barely know and just have added on Facebook, it could also be someone you’ve known your whole life—all this means is that whoever sent you this message has had their account taken over by the scammers and that the bad guys are trying to do the same thing to you.
One outcome we’ve seen will open up a new page that looks just like any other Facebook login screen. It’ll ask that in order to allow access to the video, you’ll need to verify your account information, which is exactly what the bad guys want you to do. Inserting your login credentials here will hand them directly over to the criminals. From here the scammers are free to do whatever they want with your information.
Another way the criminals can get to you and your information via this “it looks like you video”, is by having you install malicious software disguised as a plugin or download required to watch the video. While the goal of the criminals is still the same—taking over your account with the intention of spreading the video to others—the malware allows for more complex methods of doing so. According to an IT firm ESET, the malware has the capabilities to add more friends, create fake pages on, share/create/edit your post, and even unfollow other users.
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Not to mention there is also the risk that ransomware could be installed using similar methods, which could completely lock you out of your device and encrypt your personal files.
Note: You are not guaranteed to get infected with malware if you click on this message—this is just one of the possible outcomes, and is also dependent on the device and platform and you are using.
If you did click on the link, one of the first things you may notice is that you’ve also sent the message to everyone in your contacts. The good news is, is that you still have access to your account. The bad news is, the bad guys most likely have your login information.
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If you no longer have access to your Facebook or messenger account, it can be a tedious process to get back in. The only thing you really can do is to get in touch with Facebook support and report the issue to them. You can visit their help center here .
If you do, here are some steps you can take to try and minimize the potential damage that scammers could get away with.
If you remember putting your information into a login screen after clicking this message, it’s only a matter of time before the bad guys try to take over your account and completely lock you out. Changing your credentials before they do so can be your best defense against this kind of attack.
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Regardless of if you still have access or not, you also need to change this password if you’ve used them anywhere else (other social media or online banking accounts). It’s highly recommended that you do so because all these stolen credentials that scammers collect can be bought and sold to other criminals on a massive scale.
Both Messenger and Facebook have an extra security feature known as two factor authentication. This sends a 6-digit pass code to your phone number that’s required anytime you try to log in. So unless the bad guys have this 6-digit code, there is no way for them to log in to your account.
Depending on the device you’re using, it can be easier/harder for malware to be installed. If you are using a computer, and you believe there’s a chance malicious software has been installed, the best thing to do in this scenario would be to take your device to an IT specialist. While there are a number of steps you can take to try and detect/remove the malware yourself, if you wouldn’t consider yourself tech-savvy, it’s better to leave this to the professionals.
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One last thing, share this with your family and friends. Create a simple post telling them not to click on videos that say “this looks like you…”, or share this blog post with them. Spreading awareness for these types of scams can help others completely avoid them in the first place.
If you have been infected and you’ve sent this message out to all your contacts already, make sure to let everyone that’s received the message know that you were hacked, and to NOT click on the message.
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