A black Facebook color scheme? It's a scam!

Users of social networking giant Facebook were warned this week against a new scam promising to turn their "bland" blue profiles to black.

 

Security vendor Sophos noted a recent rise in the number of messages inviting users to change the background color of their Facebook accounts.

 

"Before I knew it, I was told I had to take part in an online survey (which earns affiliate cash for the scammers) before I would be given the opportunity to turn my Facebook profile black," Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said in a blog post.

 

He advised users who mistakenly clicked on the links to remove the offending messages, photos and "likes" from their account, and check that they have not authorized a rogue app to access their account.

 

Otherwise, he said the rogue app could steal information or post without asking the user's permission.

 

"(R)evoke any rogue app's publishing rights and report it as spam to Facebook," he added.

 

Cluley said the messages would invite users to click on a link to a third-party website.

 

He said that when he clicked on the link from a test account to see where the link would go, he was "bounced through a few website redirects before ultimately landing on a page entitled 'Change your Facebook Color.'"

 

The page had "ticked" his acceptance of the page's terms and conditions, he noted.

 

Cluley said other versions of the scam attempt to trick users into thinking they are running out of time to change the color of their Facebook accounts.

 

On the other hand, he said the scammers behind this latest ploy appeared to be behind a similar scam in the past where they tricked users into thinking they can remove their Facebook Timeline.

 

"Chances are, however, that many Facebook users will be too excited about the prospect of perhaps changing the look and feel of Facebook - and not spot suspicious clues like that," he said. — TJD, GMA News