Another day, another Facebook scam

[Danielx386]

Yet another scam aimed at Facebook users has been uncovered - this time by McAfee Labs. The scam is targeting Facebook users worldwide and the bogus email alert appears to be reaching the listed friends of Facebook users as well. A computer user told NetGuide they had received the alert, even though they don’t have a Facebook account.

The scammers send emails that appear to be from Facebook, telling recipients that their Facebook password has been reset and they need to click on an attachment to retrieve it. The attachment is a password stealer that installs when the user clicks on it. Once installed, the password stealer can potentially access any username and password combination utilised on that computer, not just for the user’s Facebook account.

“This threat is potentially very dangerous considering that there are over 400 million Facebook users who could fall for this scam,” McAfee says. “This is also the sixth most prevalent piece of malware targeting consumers in the last 24 hours, as tracked by McAfee Labs.

“Facebook would never send an email alerting a user that they changed his or her password. Another clue that can signal a user has received a spam email is the use of poor grammar and awkward phrases such as in the below greeting: ‘Dear user of facebook.’”

To avoid becoming a Facebook scam victim, do not open the attachment. Promptly delete the Facebook scam email. Consumers can protect their computer from this type of cybercrime by installing a complete security software suite that includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection. Consumers should make sure they are running the most up-to-date security software and their subscription is active. If consumers are unsure if their security software vendor has an update for this type of malware, they should check for and install any available updates, then immediately run a full scan.

http://www.techday.co.nz/netguide/ne...k-scam/15935/1

[Anna]

I've gotten a few of those e-mails
With the first I said to my self why would they change my pass?
If they really were concerned with security of my account, they'd have placed a pop up or something upon logging advising/forcing me to change the password.

[lhyman]

Ever since I started using GMAIL as my main email address, I have never ever got any spam or scam emails.

Sure I still have my ISP provided email address, but I only use that for them to send me notifications....

I hope this helps somebody...

[carl6969]

I have found some amusement in this Facebook email scam.
I have numerous email accounts I use for various business and personal purposes on my own server. My Facebook account is linked to a Gmail email account. Several times a day I get some of these scam Facebook emails sent to several of my own domain email accounts, none of which were ever associated with Facebook. Dead giveaway that they are scams. Additionally my Spamassassin is flagging every one of them. So I sorta smile at their feeble attempts to scam me.
Don't misunderstand me. I really this is a very serious issue and the previous posts in this thread contain very good advice about how to deal with this sort of thing. In todays world we are forced to exercise extreme caution with all emails even when those emails appear to be from a trusted source.

[xav0989]

I hold multiple email addresses, and the email I use for facebook, I only give to friends, and use with microsoft's things (licensing, etc.). Therefore, I never received any spam email on there. However, on Gmail, my SPAM folder gets full quite often. However, google never misplaced spam as good mail and good mail as spam. Funny thing, as I recall, while reading the Spam email titles, seeing one for WOW password retrieval, and I don't even own a WoW account.

[Zangetsu]

am i very glad that i dont use facebook, twitter, etc

why would any one wanna know when i take a nap or go to the toilet?

[bvforth]

When I started reading your post, my first thought was that a scam perpetrated by Mcafee had been uncovered....to which I would have said rotfl pwned noooobs!!!!!