PSA: Facebook spam attacks and what to do
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Screen shot of spam link
This afternoon the “This is sick! See who viewed your Facebook profile” spam attack is in full force. Why? I don’t have the answer, but I do know what to do if, in fact, your account is one generating the spam. The folks at Facebook provide a great resource to help those affected by the annoying issue:
If your account has been taken over and used to send spam, you should follow these steps immediately:
- Reset your Facebook password. You can do this by clicking the “Forgot your password?” link on the login page or by going to the Account Settings page once logged in.
- If you can’t reset your password because the email address you use to log in has changed, or if your account has been disabled, visit our help page.
- Make sure you have up-to-date security software on your computer, run a scan, and remove any malicious files. If you don’t do this, and your computer is infected, your account may be taken over again. If you don’t yet have protection for your computer, you can download a complimentary six-month subscription of McAfee security software. Learn more on the Software tab.
You can find even more information on how to stay safe on the Threats and Tips tabs as well as in Facebook’s Help Center.
If you notice someone in your network generating the spam, you may want to: 1) delete the post off of their wall and 2) send them the link to this post or the Facebook Help Center link so they know to update their account.
Last, but not least, educate your social networks. Copy and paste this social friendly message to spread the word:
PSA for Facebook: The “this is sick…click to see who viewed your profile” spam attack in full force. Don’t click.
If you have any tips or suggestions, feel free to add to the comments. Hope you stay spam free!
12 Comments on this post
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hyderali said:
Thanks Sarah, I’ll definitely post that sentence to my facebook status. But there are other spam attack also which needs to focus. I think FB should try spamfree software on their site to know who is generating all these spams.
Really very kind of you.
May 9th, 2011 at 1:23 pm -
Wardell said:
I believed it would only be a matter of time before we started seeing something like this on this scale with Facebook. The more users you get on the network the more users you will have that aren’t all that internet savvy, and more likely to click on the spam bait and spread it around.
May 9th, 2011 at 3:18 pm -
tire said:
I definitely get too many of these lately, among other types of spam on facebook. Can’t believe my friends fall prey to this but it happens…
-Jean
May 10th, 2011 at 1:16 am -
Virtual Private Servers said:
This is exactly why I have a supped up spyware and an antilogger. It is a shame that this happens to so many unknowingly.
May 10th, 2011 at 9:34 am -
PRsarahevans said:
Good luck in staying spam free!
May 10th, 2011 at 3:30 pm -
Britney said:
Finally, I am not alone after all! I was of the impression that I was the only person on Facebook who was being bombarded with these relentless spam messages. Sarah, these are great steps to follow if your account has been taken over by spam. I’ll be sure to spread the word to others who have experienced the same frustration.
May 10th, 2011 at 8:37 pm -
Komodo Dragon said:
This has become a very common occurrence lately from what I have seen. I think Facebook should stop coming up with more, new features and focus hard on abolishing these video viruses completely from their system as a very large number of people click on these frequently and get affected.
May 11th, 2011 at 4:47 am -
Buy Vitamins Supplements said:
My friends are experiencing this type of spam… They keep on changing their password but as always they have this problem..
May 11th, 2011 at 8:50 am -
Harvey said:
I get similar problems on Hotmail, someone sends emails to all my contacts about some rubbish competition. I’ve changed my password but it hasn’t worked! Might have to change email accounts.
May 14th, 2011 at 4:54 pm -
TreeLover said:
One piece of advice: to those who are chatting you and saying that you go to a certain link try to ask them a few questions if they would reply with a generic response you know who they are… spambots! Tell the real owner of the account to follow the steps above.
May 17th, 2011 at 12:06 am -
internet marketing consulting said:
Facebook spam: It’s out of control. Hacker. It was really bad over a recent weekend when fully half of the Facebook posts -http://www.internetmarketingconsulting.in
May 18th, 2011 at 10:01 pm -
internet marketing consulting said:
Our social media strategy for nonprofits series continues by taking a look at how …. interaction and engagement that’s occurring on all of our social media outlets
May 18th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
