If you are smart enough to have separate passwords for Facebook and your financial accounts, crooks get at you through a variety phishing attempts that you might think are Facebook games and widgets. But look closely and you’ll realize that they deliver answers to all of your bank’s security questions–and possibly clues to your passwords — right into the hands of the crooks.
Think it couldn’t happen to you? Let’s see if you recognize any of these 5 recent Facebook messages that jeopardize your security. All of these came from my Facebook friends in just the past few weeks:
1. Who knows you best?
The message reads: Can you do this? My middle name __________, my age ___, my favorite soda _______, my birthday ___/___/___, whose the love of my life ______ , my best friend _____, my favorite color ______, my eye color _______, my hair color ______ my favorite food ________ and my mom’s name __________. Put this as your status and see who knows you best. ♥
How many of these are the same facts your bank asks to verify your identity? Put this as your status and everybody — including all the people who want to hijack your bank account and credit cards — will know you well enough to make a viable attempt.
2. Your friend [Name here] just answered a question about you!
Was it possible that an old friend answered a question about me that I needed to “unlock”? Absolutely. But when you click on the link, the next screen should give you pause: 21 Questions is requesting permission to…(a) access your name, profile picture, gender, networks, user ID, friends and any other information shared with everyone…(b) send you email…(c) post to your wall…and…(d) access your data any time…regardless of whether or not you’re using their application.
Can you take that access back — ever? It sure doesn’t look like it. There’s no reference to how you can stop them from future access to your data in their “terms and conditions.” Worse, it appears that to “unlock” the answer in your friend’s post, you need to answer a bunch of questions about your other friends and violate their privacy too. I didn’t give 21 Questions access to my information, but the roughly 850 people who joined “People Who Hate 21 Questions on Facebook” apparently have and can give you insight into just how pernicious this program can be.
3. LOL. Look at the video I found of you!
This is the most dangerous of all the spam messages and it comes in a variety of forms, says Clare. It’s actually a bid to surreptitiously install malware on your computer. This malware can track your computer keystrokes and record your sign-in and password information with all of your online accounts.
How does it work? When you click on the link, it says that you need to upgrade your video player to see the clip. If you hit the “upgrade” button, it opens your computer to the crooks, who ship in their software. You may be completely unaware of it until you start seeing strange charges hit your credit cards or bank account. Up-to-date security software should stop the download. If you don’t have that, watch out.
Better yet, if you really think some friend is sending you a video clip, double-check with the friend to be sure before you click on the link. When I messaged my high-school classmate to ask if she’d really sent this, she was horrified. Her Facebook account had been hijacked and anyone who clicked through was likely to have their account hijacked too. That’s how this virus spreads virally.
4. We’re stuck!
It started out as an e
via moneywatch.bnet.com
Call me crazy. But I don't play the games or open the aps on FB unless I am absolutely sure of their safety. This may cause me to look like a spoil-sport or no fun or uncooperative. I just hope that it makes the crooks have to work so hard they just leave me alone. But probably not.
I took the approach initially of not "liking" anything on FB. When I saw that I would eventually have to ante-up and use FB, I began to like everything imaginable. This was to keep it hard for marketers to build a true profile on me. I never friend anyone that I don't know and who doesn't know a bunch of my other friends.
But it's not just FB, it is virtualy impossible to enjoy the information offered on the Internet without being tracked for you browsing history. Then marketers assemble a profile on you and sell it. Unless you have a gazzillion different interests, they can define ads that nail you dead on, by cross-referencing a few of your intersts.
I am very reluctant to provide true personal information on any form. I use one or more of the leading security software copanies. I don't do free stuff, as there is always a security swap-off. I use a first or middle name that is an abreviation of the sight I am submitting info to. When I get an email addressed to that name, I know my nfo has been sold or stolen.
I only use a junk email address(s) which is backed up with bogus info designed to throw them off the trail. I have not, but I should use an email service that alters my location IP address. If you do this, just ake sure the company is legit or you have been scammed.