Avoiding
Facebook "Likejacking" Scams
Everyone who
has used Facebook has probably seen some form of likejacking on
someone’s wall or even their own. Those links that you know for
sure you or your friend did not put on your wall can usually be
blamed on likejacking. Likejacking is usually harmless, but it
can definitely be embarrassing, and sometimes malicious software
can be installed on your computer as a result of likejacking.
What is Likejacking?
Likejacking is derived from the word “clickjacking,” which has
been an online problem for years. Likejacking is a form of
clickjacking that happens on Facebook by tricking a user to
“like” a certain website or link so that it appears on users’
walls. These links usually promise some interesting video or
website, or in some cases, money or prizes. If one of your
online friends clicks the likejacking link on your wall and
clicks on the video or prize link on the scam website, the link
will then be placed on their wall saying that they have “liked”
this link as well when they never did. After many of your
friends see that you and a number of their other friends have
liked this link, they might visit the scam website to see what
they are missing out on. These scam websites usually have a
video player on them and you must click the play button to watch
the video. In reality, there is no video player at all, but
instead a hidden like button “under” the play button of the
video. This is usually how likejacking works, so watch out for
these scams when clicking on links, even outside of Facebook.
How is Likejacking
Harmful?
Likejacking websites are usually
only trying to get as many people to visit the website as
possible for ad revenue, but sometimes malicious content can be
installed to your computer without your knowledge. If you do
click a link from someone’s Facebook wall and suspect that it
could be a likejacking scam, do not click anything on the
website to avoid getting a virus or a spyware program installed
on your computer.
How Can You Avoid
Likejacking?
Some likejacking scams are quite
obvious, whereas others can fool even the most experienced web
users. Most likejacking links try to get users to click by
promising an amazing video that will change your life. You
should avoid clicking any link that promises an outrageous video
or free prizes and money, as these are most likely likejacking
scams. Other likejacking scams are not as obvious so you must be
careful when clicking links on Facebook. Some likejacking scams
use links that appear to be from applications that actually do
exist, so it is important to check links before clicking on
them. A simple online search about the link will usually return
enough information for you to know whether the link is
legitimate or not. Also, logging out of your Facebook account
when you are not using it can help you avoid likejacking scams.
Some website will have false links with hidden like buttons, but
if you click the hidden like button and you are not logged in,
the website cannot connect to your Facebook.
Facebook Taking Steps
to Slow Down Likejacking
As the Sophos 'Naked
Security' blog explains, Facebook has taken some recent measures
to slow down likejacking efforts by sneaky developers. If
Facebook detects an anomaly in 'liking behavior' by an
individual, or suspects certain links to be suspicious or
contain malware, it will present the user with a pop-up window
asking them to confirm they actually do want to 'Like' the
related Facebook page or item. Although it may give some users
pause that they are about to be scamming, some users who think
without clicking may not realize they are exposing themselves to
potential malware, or inadvertently exposing their private
information to others.
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