Facebook photoshop scam is about to infect you

And here we go again! Another scam has hit the computer services network. This time it is spreading via Facebook and the computer nerds are calling it the Facebook photoshop scam. It is reported that it has already claimed more that 600,000 people and continues to infect the social networking site. Readf an learn how to protect yourself and save some money on computer repairs call out.

The way it operates is very simple and easily mistaken for a real contact. All that happens is that you receive a message via the Facebook Chat window. The message is from a friend (already infected) and it says “hey, I just made a photoshop of you.'” Keen to see yourself photoshopped and equally keen to make sure that no unflattering images of you pollute the internet, you click on the link to a third party website. Once there, you are asked to be granted access to your profile. This is a common interaction on Facebook and no alarm bells go on. After all, you friend has already done this and there is a picture of you to view.  Once you have granted access to the app, it drowns you in pictures of animals as it commences to spam your friends through Chat. And the cycle goes on…

The ‘computer services news’ are reporting that the scam is spreading rapidly with over 88,000 clicks per hour.

Luckily, this scam is relatively harmless. It does not install a virus or result in other malicious infection. It appears that its main bother is the knowledge that your account is spamming your friends and those insufferable pictures of animals. The best way to prevent this happening to you is to go to the Privacy Settings control in your account and remove the application’s ability to access your profile information. If you cannot easily figure out how to do it, you can call computer services geeks and we will guide you through it.

Although this particular scam is not anything to worry about, there are and will be many others that can seriously damage your computer. So, if you have not yet done this, work out a system that regularly backs up your data, install anti-virus and firewall (if you are a business) and call your computer services providers to make sure everything is running effectively.

Over and out

MobileGeekette