Facebook scam: Guy that lives in my street killed his girlfriend today

Filed Under: Facebook, Rogue applications, Social networks, Spam

It's hard enough for us to keep the Naked Security site up-to-date with the latest scams spreading virally on Facebook - no wonder Facebook Security finds it so hard to kill them off.

This one has been spreading for a couple of days, posing as a news story from one of your Facebook friends that someone who lives in their street has killed his girlfriend.

Guy that lives in my street killed his girlfriend today

DAMN!!!! A guy that lives in my street killed his girlfriend today!! Take a look it's in the news : [LINK]

Variants of the scam read:

A young man killed his girlfriend after he found this secret message in her inbox : [LINK]

or

SHOCKING : He killed his girlfriend after he found a message in her inbox

As regular readers of Naked Security will know by now, clicking on such links isn't a good idea as they invariably lead to rogue Facebook applications. These trick you into "allow"ing them access to your Facebook profile, which means they can then post to your page and spread virally to your friends. The intention? To make money through revenue-generating scams.

DAMN!!!! A guy that lives in my street killed his girlfriend today!! Take a look it's in the news

Once again, the scammers on Facebook have proven they're prepared to stoop to some pretty sick depths in their pursuit of easy cash.

If you have been hit by scams like this on Facebook, and are struggling to clean-up your profile, here's a YouTube video I made which describes what steps you need to take:

(Enjoy this video? You can check out more on the SophosLabs YouTube channel and subscribe if you like)

Make sure that you stay informed about the latest scams spreading fast across Facebook and other internet attacks. Join the Sophos Facebook page, where more than 50,000 people regularly share information on threats and discuss the latest security news.

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4 Responses to Facebook scam: Guy that lives in my street killed his girlfriend today

  1. Leyton Reed says:

    Will this ever stop. Facebook, you really need to filter your Applications much better.

  2. NBR says:

    Actually, many FB users really need to practice a greater level of common sense and better personal responsibility when it comes to FB as well as web browsing in general....

  3. I agree. I always look at alternative news sources, if I see one that I might want to see if it is real or not. I rarely allow applications.

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About the author

Graham Cluley has worked in the computer security industry for more than 20 years, developing anti-virus software and doing quite a lot of talking about internet threats. He's won awards for his blogging, but is proudest of the text adventure games he wrote when he was still wearing short trousers. You can learn more about those (the games, not the trousers) at grahamcluley.com. Send Graham an email, subscribe to his updates on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and App.net, and circle him on Google Plus for regular updates.