Warning: Scam Alert For Face Book Users

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 19 Sep 2010 9:34 am

Facebook has been hacked, and its security compromised.

I recently received "invitations to join groups" allegedly from 3 of our forum members who are also on Facebook. Theresa Galbraith was one, and the other 2 have not given me permission to say who they are. (In fact Theresa also received one of these bogus invitations, allegedly from another forumite.)

The invitations do not come from the person who allegedly sent them, and if you join the group they charge you a monthly fee, which they mention in fine print, or in black letters on a dark red background, so you can't see them, or something else equally difficult to see and read.

IF YOU'RE ON FACEBOOK, AND RECEIVE AN INVITATION TO JOIN SOME GROUP, IT IS PROBABLY A SCAM TO RIP YOU OFF. If the invitation comes from a member of this forum, check with that person and see if it's legit.

If you get one of these invitations that says it's from me, you can be sure that it's bogus.

Johnny Thomasson · Post by **Johnny Thomasson** » 19 Sep 2010 9:55 am

I didn't get one from you Mike, but I regularly get invitations for this or that, purportedly from FaceBook, that are obviously bogus. I've about decided to delete my FaceBook account altogether. My account is set to allow friends only to view my personal info, but if their security is no better than it seems to be, I have no confidence that it really is private. It just ain't worth it.

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 19 Sep 2010 1:18 pm

The invitations do not come from the person who allegedly sent them, and if you join the group they charge you a monthly fee, which they mention in fine print, or in black letters on a dark red background, so you can't see them, or something else equally difficult to see and read.

Mike, how can they charge you without having your credit card info.?

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 19 Sep 2010 10:54 pm

I'm not sure Curt. They ask for your cell phone number. Perhaps they attach the charges to your phone bill.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 19 Sep 2010 11:26 pm

another reason i'm glad i don't mess w: facebook

Papa Joe Pollick · Post by **Papa Joe Pollick** » 20 Sep 2010 4:10 am

CrowBear Schmitt wrote:another reason i'm glad i don't mess w: facebook

Yepper,That's the way to go..

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 20 Sep 2010 4:26 am

As far as I know, you can't just charge something to someone's phone bill by having their number. If that was the case, anyone who had your phone number could charge your phone.

Personally, I use Facebook all the time. I stay in touch with family, friends and business acquaintances. I'm off to Sweden this week and will be seeing a good friend I haven't seen since high school. We got reconnected on facebook.

Standard care you do normally should prevent any scams and whether or not your are a facebook member or not doesn't prevent scams from coming your way.

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 20 Sep 2010 1:37 pm

I stopped using "Facebook" about 2 yrs ago. It was apparent that it was nothing more than a haven for scammers.

NO way would I ever use it again.

c.

Bob Blair · Post by **Bob Blair** » 20 Sep 2010 2:39 pm

I've got nothing against Facebook, though I don't belong. Lots of people I know seem to enjoy it and use it in all kinds of positive ways. But here's the thing. I got one of those invitations to become someone's Facebook friend the other day (and I've never before gotten one despite knowing lots of people who use Facebook), and it said that I would have to join Facebook to do it, which of course I would. The invitation was supposedly (I haven't checked it out) from someone I know a bit and like - a folksinger on the West Coast who I once joined onstage for a couple of tunes and exchanged a couple of e-mails with afterwards. But it also gave the names/pictures of three other people who it said were on Facebook and who I might know. One was a forumite who I have chatted with by e-mail a couple of times over the years. One was from someone who I did some professional work for a few years back (a connection which was no secret at the time, but which most people in the world would not care two hoots about) and the third from a retired senior public servant who I know quite well and had numerous professional dealings with quite a lot of years ago but have never corresponded with by e-mail or anything, and haven't seen in several years ..... the only thing those four people have in common is a (in all but one case very) distant relationship with me. Now, someone with a lot of time on their hands and the names of these people could spend it on-line and figure out that I might (but only that I might) know those four people, but I'm still pretty baffled by it.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 20 Sep 2010 3:01 pm

I've been getting them too. Here's what I think is going on. If you click on a link for one of their little application programs (like "Create a Cartoon from Your Photograph"), they tell you that in order to run the app, you have to allow access to your list of Facebook contacts. Now WHY would they need THAT to make a cartoon of your face, you might well wonder? Because then they send out an email to everyone in your contact list saying, "Hey, Jim used this program; why don't YOU try it too?" So, it sounds like an implied endorsement from Jim and at least a few of my friends might fall for the trap and repeat the error. (By the way, I have NOT fallen for the trap personally, but I think that some Forumites may have, and that's why we're getting emails that appear to be from them.)

That's what I think is going on here.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 20 Sep 2010 6:19 pm

Jim is right. There are all of these applications, and you have no idea who wrote them. I block them all. The apps are the security risk. Why would you give some anonymous computer programmer access to your FB account information? I wouldn't.

Facebook itself is reasonably secure if you use a good password and don't use the apps. If your password is a dictionary word or common name, you can pretty much count on getting hacked at some point.

Chris House · Post by **Chris House** » 20 Sep 2010 6:35 pm

Think what you will, but Facebook, boiled down to it's most basic premise, is simply a data mining program. If you sign up using your regular email account, it mines all of your contacts and matches those against all the other facebook users who have done the same, and then matches their contact info against all others, and on and on. Six degrees of separation becomes one. The other thing to remember, is once it's on the web, it is there forever, and no matter how you set your privacy rules, it can be seen, and there's nothing you can do about it. I pity the young kids who are posting things there, without thinking about what they are posting, for it will surely come back to haunt them in later years,,,,while the social networking aspect might be neat, a word to the wise is, before you post, think if you want the world, for now and forever, to see that post. I mean really, do you really want that kid from grade school, who was a jerk then (and probably still is) to send you a friend request because he saw you on MyFace?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMWz3G_gPhU

Just a simple fact of the world we live in today.

**This is not meant to be, nor should be construed as, a political statement.

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 20 Sep 2010 10:33 pm

No text, no twit, no face, no 'space.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 21 Sep 2010 5:19 am

Regardless of what you think about facebook, if you are a musician, it is a great promotional vehicle. In fact all of the social media outlets: facebook, twitter, etc. are pretty much mandatory if you want to promote yourself and your event.

"No text, no twit, no face, no 'space." = no audience.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 21 Sep 2010 7:58 am

That's true, Bill. Steel players often show up at my gigs because I mentioned the gig on FaceBook. I think MySpace is dying and Twitter moves too fast, but FaceBook seems to be a really good venue for promoting gigs. One band I know generates big crowds because of their constant FaceBook promotions.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 21 Sep 2010 8:40 am

The problem is not Facebook itself, the problem is that some people are abusing it to send out these bogus invitations. Facebook is a good thing and a very useful tool. Just be wary of these invitation, and if you're thinking of joining some group, make sure you read everything very carefully.

Rick Kreuziger · Post by **Rick Kreuziger** » 21 Sep 2010 8:58 am

Another variation that one of my kids got caught by is a quiz. At the end of the quiz you're required to provide your phone number so your results will be texted to you. They then enroll you a a premium texting service (whatever that is!!)..
and charge your cell phone bill a monthly fee.
It takes an act of congress to get it taken off too...
don't ask me how I know... lol

Rick

admin · Post by **b0b** » 21 Sep 2010 9:50 am

Yeah, I block all of those quizzes (What malevolent dictator are you?

) as soon as I see them. Click "Remove", then "Block this application".

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 22 Sep 2010 6:30 am

Yeah, I never had a problem with any of this stuff. I use facebook daily and have for years and I've never had a problem.