Latest Facebook Scams: Facebook Red Scam (2013)

One of the most popular Facebook scams in early 2013 (though it has been around for years) is the change your Facebook red scam, also referred to as the Facebook Red Scam or Facebook R3D scam. The Facebook Red scam works different ways, be that clicking a link associated with Facebook Red and Facebook Red posts may install malware to the computer system and internet browser including adware, browser hijackers, and spyware. The Facebook Red scam may even direct the Facebook user to an unwanted survey, direct the Facebook user to a website hosting additional malware or drive-by download website, and/or simply not perform as advertised, meaning your Facebook profile template will not change from blue to red.

You may have noticed friends posts containing an image and text stating you can change your Facebook template to red opposed from keeping it the normal blue. Often these posts contain a large amount of tagged Facebook accounts. When a Facebook account tags a large amount of friends with these fraudulent posts, it is because their Facebook accounts have been compromised by clicking a short link from another person who clicked a link, or by completing the Facebook Red instructions explained in the process below. Some unsuspecting Facebook users also suspect this scam as being true and will promote it in posts. If you see these posts please warn your Facebook friend that this is a scam to avoid this scam from spreading.

Facebook Red Scam: Facebook Red Survey Scam

A hijacked Facebook account spams the Facebook Red (Facebook R3D) scam on their news feed:

Clicking the compromised Facebook wall post link takes you to the following landing page:

If you click the ‘Get Started’ button on the bottom corner, the following popup appears:

The pop-up tells you to press the keys Ctrl + L then… Ctrl + C then… Ctrl  +W to generate your code. Anytime you see Facebook instructions asking you to copy and paste code into your browser, avoid it. Unless you are experienced, you are likely headed for trouble.

CTL + L selects your current URL but in this case, typing Ctrl + L containd the code used to spam the Facebook Red scam message to your friends, CTL + C copies the URL, and CTL + W closes the popup.  Afterwards, you are presented with the screen shown below:

Pressing CTL + V pastes the recently copied code into your browser and loads the following Facebook Red survey scam:

The primary objective of this scam is to hijack Facebook accounts and promote a fraudulent survey, though as noted before the Facebook Red scam is linked to the infestation of malware.

How to Deal with the Facebook Red Scam:

If you did make the mistake of copying and pasting the code or clicking links associated with the Facebook Red scam then you could be spamming the message to your friends or your computer may be infected with malware.

1. Clean up your newsfeed and profile to remove references to the scam. (click the “x” in the top right hand corner of the post and report it if possible).

2. Change your Facebook password in your General Account Settings.

3. Scan for and remove malware using reputable Antivirus and Anti-Malware software.

If you or your Facebook friends have fallen for the Facebook Red scam, inform your friends about it. Share this post or send them a courtesy message and please do not make be negative towards those who fall for this scam.