Rihanna sex tape? And you're scammed
Empty promises of a Rihanna sex tape continues to hit Facebook users for six, but 'stalker' views account for the biggest scams on the social networking site.
That is according to antivirus provider Bitdefender, who says almost a quarter of scams on the site offer users a bogus method to see who has viewed their profile. Sound familiar?
Based on six months of research, the study says nearly one in five users have been fooled trying to access Rihanna sex tapes, can't blame a guy for trying.
Yet with their pants firmly around their ankles, the made-up offer tricks users into giving away private data and installing malware. Hmmm, beggar.
“Scammers have a keen interest in piquing users’ curiosity and they feel no compunction about outright lying,” says Catalin Cosoi, chief security strategist, Bitdefender.
“A curious click can cost the user dearly in terms of privacy invasions or worse.
"The frequency of certain themes in social media scams can teach us how to avoid scams.
"It can also offer us a glimpse into the hidden desires of many Facebook users."
Rihanna aside, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Megan Fox, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Chris Brown were the next most-abused celebrity names used by scammers.
An all-time low however came when American wrestler John Cena was used in a hoax claiming he died of head injuries during a practice stunt.
Forgetting the sex tapes for now however, damn that's hard, Cosoi says English and Spanish speaking Facebook goers are likely to fall for scams promising to show them potential stalkers and ex-lovers checking their profile.
The French are most interested in changing the social network’s design with 10,000 French speakers infected with a scam which claimed it would make their timeline more colourful. That's the French for you - priorities all wrong.
Though users still fall for these threats, the Facebook security team has made a lot of improvements to reduce the complexity and number of scams, proved by the drop of fraudulent and malicious links spreading on the social network.
Top 10 Facebook scams:
1. Total profile viewers (see who has viewed your profile) - 23,86%
2. Rihanna sex tape - 17,09%
3. Encontre la forma de ver quien ve mi perfil - 5,31%
4. Check if a friend has deleted you - 5,18%
5. Dites au revoir au Facebook bleu - 4,16%
6. Taylor Swift sex tape - 3,76%
7. “Free” Disneyland tickets - 2,55%
8. Enable your dislike button here - 2,15%
9. I can actually see who is spying - 1,67%
10. Estou tirando onda de facebook coloridao! - 1,64%
Have you been scammed on Facebook? By what trick? Tell us your experiences below
