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Phishing Scams Edge Into Social Networks
By Kurt Schiller

November 18, 2009 7:41AM

The report, titled "No, Your Social Networking 'Friend' Isn't Really in Trouble Overseas," describes the scam. Messages, which generally masquerade as warnings related to service agreements or other notifications, contain malicious code that covertly installs software on victims' PCs, letting thieves steal account names and passwords.

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If you're always on Facebook or Twitter and keep up with the latest funny videos, you may want to think twice before clicking on the next link, image, or video that a friend forwards to you.

A recent FBI report indicates that phishing scams are becoming more common on social networking sites through a combination of viruses, hacked accounts, and decoy messages.

The thieves then use the accounts to distribute messages to friends of the victim, requesting large sums of money and spreading the malicious code even further.

The FBI suggests that users should adjust privacy settings to protect personal information, disable options such as photo sharing when possible, and carefully scrutinize links before deciding to click on them, regardless of their apparent source.

The FBI issued its report in conjunction with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which reports that it has recorded nearly 3,200 cases of account hijacking since 2006. For more information on such scams and safeguards, check out www.ic3.gov or www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.

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