Facebook Account Verification scam tricks unsuspecting users with SOPA/PIPA warning

Facebook is a breeding ground for scammers, cybercriminals and mischief-makers. If you don’t have your wits about you, you might be easy prey for the bad guys.

A number of Facebook-using Naked Security readers have been in touch regarding a message they have seen from their friends, pointing them to what appears to be an official-looking notice from Facebook:

Warning : Announcement from Facebook Verification Team: All Profiles must be verified before 15th June 2012 to avoid Scams under SOPA and PIPA Act. The unverified accounts will be terminated. Verify your Account by steps below.

June 15th? Isn’t that today?

It’s certainly strange that this account verification process is happening on Facebook, and yet none of the media are writing about it.

The truth, of course, is that the message is bogus. It may claim to be trying to fight “scams under [the] SOPA and PIPA Act” (it’s not clear how those would be appropriate legislation to fight scams…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.

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