While most treat the holidays as a time for goodwill toward all, scammers don’t really seem to have gotten the message. Their latest tactic: a phishing scheme aimed at MobileMe users.
First reported by The Mac Observer, the scam consists of a faked email, ostensibly from Apple’s MobileMe team. It warns that a virus has been found within the user’s iDisk; to keep the virus from spreading, users are instructed to reply to the email with their user name and password. (You can see the full text of the email on The Mac Observer’s website.) Other variations of the email—one supposedly from ISP Frontier Communications—are also floating around.
It’s important that if you receive this—or any other questionable-looking email—you don’t reply to it; if you already received and replied to such a message, you should change your password immediately. Even if your MobileMe account is not be directly linked to your iTunes Store account, you may use the same password combination—and as bad as it might be for a scammer to get into your mail and calendars, if they get ahold of your Apple ID, they’ll have access to your credit card information, purchase history, and more. (You can change your password for your MobileMe account or Apple ID by visiting iforgot.apple.com.)
As a general rule, even if an email looks legitimate, you should never reply with sensitive information or visit a linked website directly through a message; if there’s an actual issue, you’ll likely be able to find it by manually typing the vendor’s URL into your Web browser. (Mac 911 columnist Ted Landau has a few more good tips on keeping yourself safe from scams online.)
SOURCE: Macworld.com
A number of scammers are taking advantage of Timeline backlash by developing pages that include deceptive instructions on how to revert to the old profile. These fraudulent Facebook pages prompt users to click a number of Like buttons, invite friends, watch YouTube videos and download files. Timeline, however, is permanent once a user opts in to try it, and will be mandatory across the site within weeks.
Despite Facebook’s efforts to educate users about the new profile, some people have misconceptions that make them susceptible to scams like these. We have found 16 Timeline-related scam pages, which have collectively gained more than 71,000 likes. The largest, with nearly 19,000 likes, has been around for at least two weeks. These pages are among the top search results when searching Facebook for “timeline.”
The social network has been unable to keep up with the volume of pages that are fraudulent or otherwise in violation of Facebook terms. There are few, if any, preventative measures to keep these pages from being created. The company relies on users to report pages after the fact. Systems prioritize these reports and a team of reviewers respond by removing the page or alerting law enforcement if necessary. With 800 million people using the site, many issues can be resolved this way, but the new crop of Timeline-related scams shows the need for improvement, both in reducing Facebook scams and helping users understand how to protect themselves.
“We work hard to educate users on how to be safe through our blog and the Facebook and Facebook Security pages,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “We regularly update the Facebook Security page and its over 5 million fans with tips and information about new threats. We also work with outside experts on education initiatives.”
As of this writing, the Facebook Security page has not warned users of claims to deactivate Timeline. There is also nothing in the Help Center explicitly telling people that the feature cannot be removed.
Users who find fraudulent pages should use the “Report Page” button on the lower left hand side of the page.
[Inside Facebook via MSNBC]
An speech by Eli Pariser called ‘Beware Online ‘Filter Bubbles’. Algorithmic filters are driving our search (information) on internet and give us information what we want to hear and which is comfortable to us. We are not getting the wider perspective of the information or in short the complete information.
Jamie Lynn McIntosh
