Facebook Band Lobbying against Proposed Fee is a Big Scam

A recently-formed band of individuals is tricking Facebook users, who apprehend of being charged a fake sum for using the social-networking site, into downloading malware and pornography, as reported by MXLogic on December 29, 2009.

The band posted a note saying that it did not approve the monthly charge of $4.99 for Facebook users starting from 30th June 2010. Consequently, as many as 155,000 people have joined the band.

However, security researchers stated that there was no such fee. Moreover, a single web-link on the band's Facebook page leads visitors to a familiar shock website that compromises browsers as well as downloads 25 malware pieces on the affected PCs.

The rapid-fire pornographic pictures, sounds and obscene images appear on the shock website. These make the computer screen tremble, while the browser can't be closed. Consequently, the system has to be restarted so that the swarm of unpleasant pictures and sounds can be ended.

Naturally, the only method to keep away the problem is to ignore the band altogether. The security researchers state that if any Facebook user has a friend who has joined the band, then he should alert that friend regarding the band and its contents.

The researchers added that although Facebook would block the page, it couldn't be known as to how many PCs the band might have infected. Perhaps this was of those bands that people joined because its title appeared cool although not caring to know if it was genuine.

Meanwhile, Facebook hasn't made the site clean of the fake band. Technical experts have critically commented that the company was acting casually in reacting to the posted contents.

The researchers stated that it was sad to find something so bad, big and growing. Other scammers could soon use the trick as a standard ploy. Thus, it was imperative that Facebook thought about the problem urgently.

While previous scams targeting the site had ranged from the 491 scams to the hidden-payment scams, the current one was novel and pretty unnerving, the researchers added.

Related article: Facebook Users Should be Careful of a Computer Virus

» SPAMfighter News - 1/7/2010