Spam messages are spreading across Facebook claiming to be from users who have calculated the total hours they spent on the social network during 2010.
Would you be tempted to find out how long you had spent on Facebook in the last year? Well, I would be cautious if I were you as you could find yourself assisting scammers who are using rogue applications to make themselves a quick buck. I’ve instantly alerted its members about these kind of spams in the past.
This latest scam messages typically look like:
I was logged into facebook for XXX hours in 2010!
Check yours @ [LINK]
or
I spent a total of XXX Hrs on Facebook in 2010 WOW. What are your hours like? I found out from [LINK] ...Enjoy!
If you click on the links you will be taken to a third-party application permissions dialog. As with legitimate Facebook applications, this app needs your permission to access information on your profile. Unfortunately this rogue application is not interested in calculating the real number of hours you spent on Facebook, all it cares about is spreading its message virally between users.
Because as soon as you click "Approve" the rogue app takes the opportunity to post a message on your Facebook page, like the ones above, designed to fool your friends into believing you’ve found out how many hours you spent on the website during 2010.
What is the point of the scam? To make money by tricking you into taking a survey during your permission granting process.
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