Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Facebook Phishing Scam Uses Fake Login Page

A new phishing scam currently spreading through Facebook is proving how important it is to read the fine print.

The scam uses chat messages and wall posts on friends’ pages to trick users into thinking they are being directed to a Facebook application, according to the security firm F-Secure.


Instead of landing on the app page, users instead find themselves on a genuine-looking Facebook login page, where they are asked to re-authenticate their account by entering their e-mail address and password.


But if users look carefully at the login page, they realize the URL in the browser’s menu bar includes “.ru” after the regular Facebook.com address, meaning it’s not a legitimate Facebook site, and any information entered can be easily swiped by the cybercriminals perpetrating the phishing scam.


F-Secure says that although this particular Facebook scam hasn’t spread quickly, Facebook users should always be careful when asked to enter any information, and to be especially wary of links, even if they appear to come from friends.


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