Apa Scams? Hati hati dengan itu Privasi
5 Facebook Scams: Protect Your Profile
Facebook and other social networks can be downright unfriendly when it comes to scam attempts. Here's how to protect yourself and your Facebook friends.
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Beny Rubinstein knows computer security. An employee of a Seattle-area tech giant with 20 years of IT experience under his belt, Rubinstein has seen a side of the industry that most people will never know. He holds a degree in computer engineering, and -- oh yeah -- he just got scammed out of $1,100 on Facebook.
Rubinstein's experience isn't entirely uncommon. (We'll get to the specifics in a moment.) What's striking about his story, though, is that it demonstrates how easily anyone -- even a highly trained expert in computer security -- can be ensnared by a seemingly simple social network scam. And all kinds of these scams are on the loose.
More than 20,000 pieces of malware attacked social networks in 2008 alone, estimates the online-security firm Kaspersky Lab. That's no surprise, either: While e-mail is still the most spam-filled medium, researchers suspect that social network cybercrime is growing at a far faster rate.
"People are used to receiving spam malicious messages in their e-mail, but it is much less common on Facebook," says Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant with Sophos, which makes antivirus and anti-spam software. "They are lulled into a false sense of security and act unsafely as a result."
You can avoid becoming one of the many who make that mistake. We've dug up the dirt on five scams currently posing a threat on Facebook. We turned to analysts who study them as well as to users who have fallen for them, all to help spread the word about how these things work and how you can best dodge them. (Facebook representatives did not respond to our request for comment.)
Knowledge is the greatest weapon against becoming a victim. Read on, and arm yourself well.
Scam #1: The Nigerian 419
The scam: It may sound like a hip new emo band (or a somewhat old e-mail scam), but the Nigerian 419 will do more than just offend your ears -- it'll also empty your wallet. The moniker refers to a scam dating back decades that has recently entered the social network scene.
Back to Rubinstein. A couple of months ago, Rubinstein received some alarming Facebook messages from a friend and fellow tech professional.
"[He said] he was in the U.K. and was robbed, and needed $600 to fly back to Seattle," Rubinstein recalls.
The messages came both in Facebook-based IMs and in e-mail. They included details such as family members' names, making the notes appear all the more authentic. It wasn't until two hours and $1,100 later that Rubinstein realized what had happened: Someone had hijacked his buddy's account, contacted his friends and -- at their expense -- made off like a bandit.
"Scammers figured out that even though social networks don't have direct access to money, they have access to information that gives you a good shot at getting someone else's money," says Vicente Silveira, a product management director at VeriSign and a friend of Rubinstein's.
Facebook and other social networks can be downright unfriendly when it comes to scam attempts. Here's how to protect yourself and your Facebook friends.
Beny Rubinstein knows computer security. An employee of a Seattle-area tech giant with 20 years of IT experience under his belt, Rubinstein has seen a side of the industry that most people will never know. He holds a degree in computer engineering, and -- oh yeah -- he just got scammed out of $1,100 on Facebook.
Rubinstein's experience isn't entirely uncommon. (We'll get to the specifics in a moment.) What's striking about his story, though, is that it demonstrates how easily anyone -- even a highly trained expert in computer security -- can be ensnared by a seemingly simple social network scam. And all kinds of these scams are on the loose.
More than 20,000 pieces of malware attacked social networks in 2008 alone, estimates the online-security firm Kaspersky Lab. That's no surprise, either: While e-mail is still the most spam-filled medium, researchers suspect that social network cybercrime is growing at a far faster rate.
"People are used to receiving spam malicious messages in their e-mail, but it is much less common on Facebook," says Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant with Sophos, which makes antivirus and anti-spam software. "They are lulled into a false sense of security and act unsafely as a result."
You can avoid becoming one of the many who make that mistake. We've dug up the dirt on five scams currently posing a threat on Facebook. We turned to analysts who study them as well as to users who have fallen for them, all to help spread the word about how these things work and how you can best dodge them. (Facebook representatives did not respond to our request for comment.)
Knowledge is the greatest weapon against becoming a victim. Read on, and arm yourself well.
Scam #1: The Nigerian 419
The scam: It may sound like a hip new emo band (or a somewhat old e-mail scam), but the Nigerian 419 will do more than just offend your ears -- it'll also empty your wallet. The moniker refers to a scam dating back decades that has recently entered the social network scene.
Back to Rubinstein. A couple of months ago, Rubinstein received some alarming Facebook messages from a friend and fellow tech professional.
"[He said] he was in the U.K. and was robbed, and needed $600 to fly back to Seattle," Rubinstein recalls.
The messages came both in Facebook-based IMs and in e-mail. They included details such as family members' names, making the notes appear all the more authentic. It wasn't until two hours and $1,100 later that Rubinstein realized what had happened: Someone had hijacked his buddy's account, contacted his friends and -- at their expense -- made off like a bandit.
"Scammers figured out that even though social networks don't have direct access to money, they have access to information that gives you a good shot at getting someone else's money," says Vicente Silveira, a product management director at VeriSign and a friend of Rubinstein's.
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