Dangerous Malware Spreading Via Facebook Status Updates

Be careful about what links you’re clicking on in Facebook. There’s a new scam that’s spreading via your friend’s status updates.

In fact, you may want to check your Facebook account right now to be sure your status update hasn’t automatically been changed.

How It Works

Here’s what’s going on according to the HuffPost: An app going by various names, including ProfileSpy and Pro Check, claims it will offer insight into how many people have viewed your Facebook profile if you fill out a short survey and grant the app permission to access your information.

The scam has been making its way around the social network via status updates, which include a link to the suspicious service and text that reads, “My total facebook views are: 1245 Find out your total profile views.”

From the flurry of status updates that are appearing on Facebook, it appears many are falling for the phony service.

Not only will completing the survey fail to shed light on the number of views your profile has actually received, but doing so will reward the scammer, who is likely to earn a commission, and, as All Facebook notes, “the whole exercise exposes your profile to malware and shares your personal information with an entity that will send you more spam in the near future.”

What To Do If You’ve Been Infected

If you’ve been infected, be sure to uninstall the ‘Pro Check’ app or any other app that looks suspicious. Then download Malwarebytes, which I can personally say has saved my butt more than a few times. Three thumbs up on this free service. Just run a full system scan and you should be all set. After that, be sure to monitor your e-mail closely to make sure you aren’t getting more spam than usual and, as always, change your passwords.

Images courtesy HuffPost.