Watch out for Facebook “clearance promotion” spam hitting newsfeeds
Facebook users should be aware of another spate of “clearance promotion” spam hitting newsfeeds that attempt to lure users to fake discount websites.
Promotions like the one below are spreading online claiming to show a list of websites offering heavy discounts on a range of branded good such as items from Ray-Ban, Van and North Face. The latest version of this spam is spreading under the header “2019 mid-year clearance promotion summary”.
The posts will typically have been posted by a Facebook friend who may have even tagged you in the content. However Facebook users who have uploaded the below graphic have had their Facebook accounts compromised. More on than below.
Are the websites listed legitimate?
That’s a big no. Try and buy anything from these websites and your bank details will be stolen from you. These fake websites have all the typical red flags you’d expect with scam websites, including –
– Unrealistic discounts
– WHOIS details reveal the domains were only created weeks or months ago
– No secure encryption, meaning no HTTPS, on webpages asking for sensitive data
– No contact information
– Websites use a basic e-commerce template with little design or information (essentially meaning the websites look tacky and pretty terrible!)
That should be by far enough tell-tale signs to have you running in the other direction, fast.
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I went to one of these websites. Am I in trouble?
If you didn’t get as far as entering your credit card details, you should be okay. None of the websites we looked at attempted to install malware when we were browsing the webpages. It appears the sites are just geared up at stealing your card details.
My Facebook account posted albums or photos with these links on!
If your Facebook account has been posting photos, graphics, albums or tagging your friends in such content, it means your Facebook account has been compromised, and you need to sort it.
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But how?
Phishing, Third Party Apps or Malware is the answer.
If you’ve been caught out by a phishing scam (meaning crooks have tricked you into giving up your Facebook password on a fake login webpage, most likely) then you need to change your password, and consider enabling two-factor-authentication.
If you’ve installed a third party Facebook app that’s uploading the photos and tagging friends, you need to head to your main Facebook settings, click on Apps and Websites and review the list of active apps you have installed on your account. If there are apps on there you don’t recognise, then remove them.
Thirdly your device could have malware that is capable of accessing your Facebook account and posting on your behalf. If that’s the case, a scan from a reliable antivirus outfit should do the trick.
And remember to remove any posts that are peddling these links if your account made them so they don’t lure your friends into accessing harmful websites.
I was tagged by a friend in this graphic on Facebook. Am I in trouble?
No. Being tagged in these graphics doesn’t necessarily mean your account has been compromised. It’s the account that uploaded the graphic and tagged others that has been compromised. We would recommend informing your friend who uploaded the graphic.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest cybersecurity threats and our tips to stay safe online. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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Thanks for reading! But before you go… as part of our latest series of articles on how to earn a little extra cash using the Internet (without getting scammed) we have been looking into how you can earn gift vouchers (like Amazon vouchers) using reward-per-action websites such as SwagBucks. If you are interested we even have our own sign-up code to get you started. Want to learn more? We discuss it here. (Or you can just sign-up here and use code Nonsense70SB when registering.)
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