Survey Scam: Unused Flight Vouchеrs Airline Tickеts.

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The Scam:

Dumping Unused Flight Vouchеrs Airline Tickеts - Ka Ching! +[Link]

Summary:

Facebook users may notice some of their friends posting a message with the words "similar to the one shown above" and a attached link. The message is not posted by your friends, but by a Rogue app they have been tricked into installing, under the impression that they are going to get some airline tickets.. The Rogue application "Weekly Special" does nothing more than Spam your wall, without your knowledge, with aforementioned bogus message and links once you "Allow or Install" it on your facebook profile. The end game is you must fill out surveys or download products to get free tickets that don't exist. This is a Survey Scam. DO NOT CLICK THE LINKS IN THE MESSAGES OR INSTALL THIS APP IF YOU SEE IT POSTED IN YOUR NEWS FEED BY A FRIEND. 

Scam Type: Rogue App, Survey Scam, Airline Tickets

Block App Links - ( You can use this to block the facebook app from your profile. )

http://www.facebook.com/apps/block.php?id=184996371520674&action=block&source=about

The Break Down

Facebook users may notice some of their friends posting a message similar to the example below. DO NOT CLICK THE LINK given in the post. 

Example

If you take the bait and click on the link, you will be directed to the "Application Request for Permission" screen you see below.

Example

At this point you are asked to give an application named "Weekly Special" the requested permissions you see above. It's asking for quite a lot of access to your profile. The important thing here is that you stop and look at these application screens. Do not blindly allow applications that you have not personally reviewed and you know nothing about, have this kind of access to your profile. This particular set of "Permissions" will:

1. Allow this app access to your basic profile information.
2. Give it the ability to post to your wall without asking.

This application is requesting all of these permissions because once you click allow, the following message will be posted to your wall without your knowledge and you haven't even been shown what was promised in the original message.

Example

While your friends see the above messages pop up in their news feeds, (Spamming Them), you are shown a confusing stream of things, that you must do to claim your tickets. Sadly these are ploys to get you to download a product or do a Survey for which the scammer will be paid. You will not receive any tickets from this scam. If  fact one of the product this scam leads to is MyWebSearch Toolbar. This toolbar is classified as malicious spyware.. It is advised that if you see this scam posted in your feed, do not click any of the links. See example.

Example (Click To Enlarge)

 

It is important that you never hand over any personal information, such as: email addresses, cell number, name, home address or credit card numbers, to these types of scams. If you do, you are simply setting yourself up to be spammed or worst. Identity theft is big business and handing over some of the info these bogus surveys ask for, will make you a victim of that business. If you have made the mistake of handing over a credit card number, you should call your bank or credit provider as soon as possible to have them remove or dispute the charges that have or maybe made to the card. If you've given your cell number to any of these types of Scams, it is important that you call your cell carrier ASAP to have any charges you may receive stopped. If you begin to receive unsolicited phone calls, you should take note of the calls, record names and numbers, then report the calls to the FCC or other proper authorities..

Read here to learn how to avoid these types of scams on facebook.

Facebook Spam

http://scamsniper.blogspot.com/p/facebook-spam.html

Damage Control ( For those who have fell victim. )

If you have fell victim to any of these scams, you need to clean up your facebook profile immediately by removing the posts they made to your wall and then removing plus blocking the rogue application that you may have install to your facebook. If you've downloaded and installed any programs to your computer, it is advised that you run a full virus scan immediately.

Stay Virus Free

http://scamsniper.blogspot.com/p/staying-virus-free.html

About Black Knight

I am a computer repair technician with over 15 years experience and have been computer security and information privacy enthusiast for the last 4 years. I've helped literally thousands of individuals fix their issues by offering help through various blogs and Facebook pages. I like teaching myself and others new things, and believe in freely sharing knowledge.