<< SCAM ALERT – Free Gift And Gift Card Scams >>
Facebook users should avoid all of the free gift and gift card offers shown in the examples below. If you get drawn in by these bogus offers you will end up being led to websites that trick you into *Sharing* spam, *Liking* random fan pages and finally you will be told you need to complete surveys/offers to receive your imaginary free gift or gift card. The fake surveys or offers net scammers 1 to 3 dollars per survey completed and they have no problem tricking you to get that payout. You may also be asked to install malicious browser plugins that will use your browser to compromise your facebook account, and caused it to repeatedly spam the people in your friends list. Please see the examples below and read the extended information provided below them..
Remember: You should approach ALL free gift card offers on Facebook with CAUTION. If you can’t find the particular offer on the Retailers main website or Facebook fan page you should AVOID the offer.
Example Free Gift And Gift Card Scams
Extended Information:The Facebook messages you’ve just seen above are not part of any legitimate offer on Facebook. If you were to click any the links in any of those messages on Facebook you will be led to website that show you screens similar to the examples below.
Example 1 – Fake Offer
The above screens are not part of facebook or part of any verification process. The real reason why the victim must complete this step is so that the scam artist can spread more spam and get paid. The scam artist can net a $1 or more for each completed survey or a commission for each downloaded product. The surveys themselves are simply designed in many cases to glean email addresses or as much personal information about the victim as possible. Providing these types of surveys this extra information will open the victim up to spam or even Identity Theft. In many cases the products offer for download will infect the victims computer with Ad-ware, Spyware or a Trojan Horse virus.
Facebook Profile Clean Up
If you have fallen for any of the scams shown above, you may need to remove any Facebook Applications or browser plugins you may have installed as a result of these scam. You will also need to delete any spam wall messages you have posted due to these scams as soon as possible. If you have seen your friends post the scam, take a little time to report the spam to Facebook.
How to recover from spamming browser plugins or apps:
**First: Start by checking what Facebook apps you have installed and remove any suspicious ones. Then check for and remove any suspicious browser plugins. You should also update your Anti-Virus Software and RUN A FULL SCAN with it to make sure you didn’t get any viruses on your computer from the spam.
How do I remove or delete an app from my account?
https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=170585223002660#How-do-I-remove-or-delete-an-app-from-my-account?
Removing any possible bogus browser Plugins..
~MBK
The BULLDOG Estate 