What The Tech: Facebook Cracking Down On Hackers
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Itβs taken some time, but Facebook has begun flagging a viral scam responsible for tricking people into sharing a post that does absolutely nothing but help hackers and scammers.
Youβve no doubt come across posts of βOMG IT WORKEDβ from friends. The posts claim that copying and pasting the text into a post of your own, it will prevent Facebook from accessing your information, get rid of ads, and see more posts from more of your friends.
This week, Facebook began flagging or tagging some of those posts as βFalse Informationβ.
Those posts are no longer visible unless the user specifically clicks on βsee postβ.
Of course copying and pasting the text will do nothing. Some of the posts claim a local television station even reported on it.
Hereβs how the scam works:
By posting the exact text, hackers can search Facebook for keywords such as βOMG it workedβ, or βYessssssβ. Searches then return all Facebook users who have posted the text publicly.
Scammers can then target those users in some ways including cloning their accounts and sending fake friend requests to all of their friends.
Some of the posts will attract comments from scammers offering to remove malware and return accounts to victims. This also is false. Theyβll either ask for money upfront, or send links to install malware on the user’s computers.
They may also send messages, emails, and texts to the posters and their friends that look like a Facebook login.
In a nutshell, scammers spot gullible Facebook users whoβll fall for tricks like this and figure theyβll be an easy mark.
The hope is that by flagging these posts as βfalse informationβ it should cut down on the number of people clicking and sharing the posts.
The question is: βWhy did it take so long for Facebook to flag the posts?β
Theyβve been around since at least 2012 and many other posts get flagged every day with the
same βfalse informationβ tag.
I reached out to Facebook but have not received a response at this time.
