Warnings are being posted across Facebook, warning users to beware messages from friends that invite them to “Visit the New Facebook”.
Although these messages are being shared by Facebook users with the best of intentions, the warning about the risk of being locked out of your own Facebook account may in fact be more of a nuisance than the alleged hacker attack itself.
Here’s a typical message seen on Facebook:
PLEASE RE-POST FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!THIS NOTICE IS DIRECTED TO EVERYONE WHO HAS A PAGE ON FACEBOOK: IF SOME PEOPLE IN YOUR PROFILE OR YOUR FRIENDS SEND YOU A LINK WITH WORDS "VISIT THE NEW FACEBOOK ' DO NOT OPEN! IF YOU OPEN IT YOU CAN SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR PAGE. IT'S A HACKER WHO STEALS YOUR DETAILS AND REMOVES YOU FROM YOUR OWN PAGE. COPY AND SPREAD THE WORD
However, Sophos researchers have found no evidence that the threat is real. We simply haven’t managed to uncover any reports of any users hit by such an attack.
As such, it appears that this is just the latest chainletter spreading across the social network. We’ve certainly seen plenty of similar examples of hoaxes spread by well-intentioned people in the past.
Remember, a genuine alert would be likely to contain a link to a legitimate security firm’s website – detailing the true nature of the threat.
Remember to always get your computer security advice from a computer security company. Friends may be well-intentioned in passing on warnings, but it’s always good to check your facts before forwarding them any further.
If you want to learn about the real threats on Facebook you should join the Sophos Facebook page, where we’ll keep you up-to-date on the latest rogue applications, scams and malware attacks threatening social network users.
